The power of a simple scent
The Citizen|November 08, 2024
Here's something truly magical about how a simple scent can send you back to a moment from your childhood with startling clarity.
SONJA BROWN
The power of a simple scent

A single whiff can dissolve years, transport you to a time and place you haven't thought about in ages.

While sights and sounds often trigger memories, nothing seems to have the same instantaneous effect as smell. It's a direct line to the past, capable of reigniting long-forgotten emotions, places, and people.

This phenomenon isn't just poetic—there's science behind it. The sense of smell, unlike our other senses, has a direct link to the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for emotion and memory.

When we smell something familiar, the scent doesn't go through the usual cognitive filters that other stimuli do.

This story is from the November 08, 2024 edition of The Citizen.

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This story is from the November 08, 2024 edition of The Citizen.

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