The Smell Is Right – Using Scents to Enhance Life (Part 2)

The scents that surround us have a significant influence on how we live our lives. Specific smells have predictable psychological effects, as discussed in part 1 of this article - lemon improves our performance on cognitive tasks while peppermint has the same result when we are doing physical work, for example.

Researchers have also found that scents each of us individually classify as pleasant influence us in foreseeable ways:

• When we smell a scent that we think is pleasant while we're waiting somewhere, it seems to us that we've been waiting for a shorter time than if a pleasant smell is absent. If you know that you, or others, will be spending a lot of time on hold or in a line, add a pleasant smell to your environment.
• We're apt to linger in spaces that smell good - so scent is a way that you can encourage people to gather in particular sections of your home during a party.
• Smelling pleasant scents also puts us into a generally good mood, which means we're apt to be more creative and more interested in resolving disagreements genially as opposed to confrontationally.
• Gamblers bet more money when they're in a good smelling place, so, if you often lose at cards, don't add potpourri to the den when the poker game's at your house.
• When we smell pleasant scents, we're more apt to recall pleasant memories, which is good if you're not feeling well or under stress - and you'll generally report that you feel less pain when you smell a pleasant smell than you will when you're not doing so.
• We're more confident when we are smelling a pleasant scent - so wearing that perfume or cologne you like is a good idea when you're taking the law boards or defending your dissertation.
• Scented spaces seem larger than unscented ones, and, as a bonus, those larger seeming scented spaces also seem cleaner and brighter than unscented ones - even if we don't consciously register that scent - conscious registration is not necessary for the repercussions of pleasant smells noted above, either.

What is a good smell? Good smells are in nose of the sniffer. They depend on the individual and their life experience. Lavender may remind me of my Aunt Frances's friendly hugs, but remind you of the receptionist at your childhood dentist's office, which is a much less pleasant association. Some smells are generally felt to be pleasant, however, such as baby powder, flowers, and spices associated with foods cooked on happy, special occasions, for example.

Smelling the same smell in two different places where you'll be working on a project puts you in the same mood as in both spaces and calls the same memories to mind. If your home office and a workplace share an odor, it will help you work more effectively in both places.

What about unpleasant smells? They mobilize us to action - particularly to leave spaces. So, if your guests just don't get the hint . . .