…take a whiff

The power of a smell.  It can lure you, repel you, utterly disgust you, clear a room, and so on and so forth.  Our noses are some powerful things.

It’s no wonder that smell is the sense most closely linked to memories.  Not just memories, but our emotional responses to memories.

More often than not, it’s what we call nostalgia.  Apple pie, fresh-cut grass, laundry detergent, chlorine, bleach…apparently I have a lot of disinfected memories.

When you really think about it, it truly is a wonder that the smell of chemicals like chlorine and bleach can bring back some pretty powerful and mostly positive memories (5AM swim practices take a while to reach the state of nostalgia).

But for all that our noses can do for us, there is one thing it seems they may fail us in.  Waking us up.  A new study has found that smells (primarily smoke) will only wake 2 out of 10 of us.

Due to its peripheral function smell is less than helpful when you’re in deep sleep.  So while you may be dreaming of camping trips and BBQ festivals gone-by, the scent will probably not be enough to wake.  Good  news, the fire alarm probably will.

As the light sleeper in the room I just want you all to know that I will put forth a valiant effort towards rousing you from your nostalgic reveries.

Side Note: In light of the horrific shooting in Colorado yesterday 2WC wishes to send out utmost sympathies and condolences to the victims and their families.  We will have more tomorrow as a part of our weekly co-blog.

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“Can Smells Wake Us Up From Deep Sleep?”: MSNBC

“Smells Like Nostalgia: Why Do Scents Bring Back Memories”: MSNBC

…bi-daily smile…