Have you ever smelled something and gotten flashbacks of a fond memory from your childhood? Maybe you got a scent of aftershave and pictured your father. Maybe you walked past a bakery and remember going to the shops with your mom. Or maybe the smell of pine needles takes you right back to the days of four square and tag on the playground.
There’s no doubt the smells and childhood memories are linked and we tend to associate certain scents with a lot of stories from our youth. International Flavors & Fragrances, Inc funded a 20 year study on the effects of fragrance on our emotions and mood:
Eight major factors of mood are affected by fragrance, including: irritation, stress, depression, apathy, enhancement of happiness, sensuality, relaxation and stimulation.
Read more: Now you can be a real life Dr. Dolittle
Mood Media put together a few numbers from various studies and they say that we are 100 times more likely to remember something we smell over something we see, hear or touch:
Smile Breakfast got talking about the smells and childhood memories. Bobby and Lindy both went back to their youth with the smell of Bashews, Kokies, and candy bracelets:
Listeners got in touch with Smile Breakfast to tell the team about smells that remind them of childhood memories:
