Could you recognize your parents by their perfume? Do you remember what your grandparents' house smelled like? Did you feel afraid when you smelled a dentist's office? Our sense of smell, along with the other senses, is strongly connected to a multitude of memories, and here we'll discuss why.

Types of memory

There are different types of memory: muscle memory, which occurs when our body acts reflexively; working memory, which occurs when we perform tasks such as reading or calculations; long-term memory, which stores information for recall even years later; and others. The variations in these types of memory have been studied over time by different academic fields.

In the field of psychology and neuroscience, sensory memory and emotional memory are manifested in a complementary way.

The sensory system stores information that reaches us through the senses in a matter of milliseconds and interprets it in order to associate it with something we know, but this information will hardly be retained in such a pronounced or prolonged way if it is not connected with some emotion since there are thousands or millions of stimuli that reach us through the senses every day.

That's where emotional memory comes in, which is able to keep in our head the image of a person, a place, an experience or a moment due to the strong impression it had on us and how it made us feel.

The combined power of sensory and emotional memory

By connecting both memories, we can come to understand a little more about how our brain works to associate tastes, sounds, or smells with other things, and thus be able to remember them in a more prominent way.

Specifically, smell is one of the senses that we think is not so associated with our past and our memories, but this changes when we realize how easily a smell can trigger a neural connection and a strong emotional reaction.

The examples we mentioned at the beginning are among the most common or basic when discussing the emotional memory we develop through scents, but there are many more situations that can unlock a treasure chest of memories in seconds simply by smelling something. And, as expected, this only happens with things to which we attach truly strong emotions. We prefer to focus more on the positive, so we'll talk specifically about the feeling of happiness that overwhelms us when we think of that special someone or that special moment.

Remember happiness every day

And of course, we make those associations to the past in very unexpected moments, like walking down the street or trying out products in our daily routines. If a subtle scent reaches us while we're doing our skincare, it can awaken a feeling of happiness that makes us remember something we cherish and value because of our personal and significant experiences.

At Naturalis, we want you to be surrounded by pleasant emotions and enjoyable memories every time you experience the different aromas of our toilet soap presentations.

Filling your day with happy moments from the early hours can help your mood; you can learn more about it at this link: https://naturalis.infasa.com.mx/la-influencia-de-los-aromas-en-tu-estado-de-animo

Let your sensory and emotional memory awaken the best in you with Naturalis and the aromas that accompany you.