Many older adults today are at risk of cognitive loss or already struggle with it. Cognitive loss can be characterized as by having trouble recalling information, difficulty learning new things, and issues with everyday decisions. With such an increased concern surrounding the topic, it has become crucial to help reduce the risk and advancement of cognitive impairment.
Olfactory enrichment has been found positive impacts on memory. The olfactory system is in charge of regulating your sense of smell. It is an important sensory system that is in direct communication with the regions of the brain that govern memory and emotion. Previous studies have found that consistently exposing moderate dementia patients to a variety of different smells over a period of time improved not only their memory but also their olfactory function.
Using this information, current researchers at the UCI Center for the Neurobiology of Learning & Memory sought to determine if they could improve memory while using a more practical method of stimulation. The study had a total of 43 participants who were both male and female between the ages of 60 and 85 with otherwise good general health and no memory impairment. The participants were given a diffuser with seven different cartridges containing different natural oils. The participants were randomly split into either the olfactory enriched or control group. Those in the olfactory enriched group were exposed to seven different smells with a new smell every night for two hours. The participants in the control group underwent the same protocol but with nominal amounts of odorant. Participants were asked to recite as many words they remembered from a previous list of words they read aloud. Those in the enriched group showed a significant 226% improvement in cognitive performance compared to the control group.
Using diffusers to generate pleasant aromas can help facilitate improved cognitive function.
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The promising results demonstrated that even minimal olfactory enrichment could stimulate positive impacts on memory and cognition. The research team hopes to expand its findings and study the impacts of olfactory enrichment on patients diagnosed with cognitive loss. Nevertheless, this study highlights some of the efforts being made to find a variety of accessible methods to combat cognitive disorders.
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