We have 5 different senses to help us understand our environment. Humans are unique in that we tend to rely heavily on our eyes. Unlike most other animals, our sense of sight is a fairly complex system in our bodies. There are many components which make up our vision that help us collect visual information.
Most other animals on the other hand, rely mostly on their sense of smell. Animal like a dogs, mice and bears can learn far more from their nose than from their eyes. We as a species often tend to forget the importance of our sense of smell, relying heavily on our eyes instead.
However, smell is our most sensitive sense. This means that it only requires a small amount of stimulus to give us information. Our noses do a lot more for us than we might imagine. The following examples express just some of the areas our sense of smell can influence.
On food
The most obvious factor affected by smell is our food. Our sense of taste is highly dependent on smell to determine our food experiences. Taste is essentially the fusion of smell and touch that creates a taste perception. Ever seen someone hold their nose shut when eating something undesirable? This stems from the idea that odour associates itself with taste. Therefore the impact of bad taste is not as strong without smell. The same works for good smells. We wouldn’t be able to enjoy our favourite tasty treats and flavours without our sense of smell. Worse still, we wouldn’t pick up on the bad smells of rotten or expired food either.
On your emotions
The smallest sniff of a pungent smell in the air is enough to ruin anyone’s day. This is because smell can dramatically affect the way we feel. Our noses are closely connected to our brain, so much so that a smell can cause an emotional response. Smell can change our moods for better or for worse. For example, the smell of peppermint provides an energy boost while lavender can make us feel calm. While the smell of rotten food can make us feel ill.
On your health
Smell can even go so far as to impacting our health and well-being. Certain smells even have the power to soothe different ailments. For example, the smell of chamomile can help with digestive problems, tension headaches and sleeplessness. The scent of roses can help lower blood pressure. Vanilla has a calming effect that can help to reduce stress. These different scents help to improve different areas of the body, showing us just how influential scent really is.
On your memory
Our sense of smell can actually help us remember things we may have forgotten over time. Smells can trigger vivid memory depictions in our minds. Our noses are so powerful that one sniff could instantly bring us back to a certain connection. This is so effective that some therapists choose scent as a means to recover memory.
On your time and money
Scent has the power to make us spend more time in one area over another. When we have a particular attraction towards a scent, it can draw us to where that scent originates. In the same way, a bad odour can make us avoid spaces. For example, a case study was conducted in a retail space to determine the effects of scent marketing. In short, scent marketing is the use of smell as a means to improve a business’s bottom-line. This study found that shoppers spent more time in-store when areas inside were scented. This proved beneficial for store owners, as their customers were happier and as a result bought more items overall.
On your work
Just as scent has the power to influence how you spend your time and money, it too has influence on how you earn it. Scent in the workplace has been shown to affect performance, attitude and overall experience. This is due to the way in which scent can dramatically affect our mood. In workplaces with pleasant smells, workers report higher self-confidence and therefore set higher goals. These smells can also be said to improve vigilance and decrease any frustration caused during tedious tasks.
On the whole you can improve many areas of your life in one simple step: improve the smells around you. This is also true of your business, as controlling these smells can affect the lives of your consumers and employees. This easy change can be provided by a scent expert like BrandScents, who can transform the scent profile of your space instantly. This way, your business can own the powerful impact of smell in all its forms.