Discovering Your Orange

Peeling an orange brings me back to a time when my grandmother was alive. She always put a slice of orange in her tea. Grandma always smelled like a freshly peeled orange to me-the essence would linger on her clothing. To this day smelling orange brings me joy and happiness of a time long ago filled with loving memories.

Smell is such a powerful sense- it is closely linked with memory, probably more so than any of our other senses. But how do smells trigger such strong emotions and memories?

Smells are first processed by the olfactory bulb, which starts inside the nose and runs along the bottom of the brain. The olfactory bulb is directly connected to the amygdala and hippocampus, which might explain why the smell of something can so immediately trigger a detailed memory or even a powerful emotion.

A number of behavioral studies have revealed that smells trigger more vivid emotional memories and are better at inducing memories than visual images. Unlike other animals, humans have evolved to rely most on our sense of vision—but your sense of smell may be more important than you ever thought.

You likely know from experience that the way a place smells can affect your mood. If you’re somewhere that has an offensive smell, you are more likely to be in a bad mood. If you walk into a room that has a pleasurable smell, you are more likely to be a good mood. Your sense of smell influences your moods much more than you may know. Smell is the most sensitive of all our senses. As infants, smell is the first sense to develop. Our noses have as many as six million odor detecting cells.

Scent-preferences are most often highly personal. They can trigger specific memories and associations whether good or bad or painful. Our sense of smell can produce powerful, mental, physiologic, and emotional responses, such as the orange with my grandmother.

A variety of plant life cover the Earth in different shapes, sizes, colors, and scents. Many of these plants contain compounds that typically can’t be seen with the eye—they are hidden within the roots, flowers, seeds, bark, or other areas of the plant. These compounds are known as essential oils. They are highly concentrated, making them exceptionally potent. These oils can trigger very powerful feelings. Everyone reacts differently to them-some reactions are positive while others can be negative. Geranium is one smell I do not care for and it evokes feelings of grief in me.

Each essential oil holds a variety of benefits for the user. Some essential oils can be soothing, and have grounding properties, while others are known to be energizing, uplifting, warming, or renewing. As our bodies go through a range of emotions throughout a single day, essential oils can help us manage and maintain our well-being. They can lift us up, give us comfort and ground us. And they can calm us and allow us to have restful night’s sleep. Whatever your preference, essential oils are a healing way to help overcome negative emotions and put us in a positive frame of mind making us be the best version of our self.

What is your orange?