Today I left the house before 8am to enjoy a morning walk in the countryside. It was a good move! As soon as I rounded the corner away from human habitation, the sun low and blinding, I found myself deeply immersed in the scents of spring. Mostly sun blinded I could make out that there was some rising moisture in the air and wondered if this was able to carry the scents more easily into my nostrils. Or was it more to do with the strength of the sun? It really was penetrating. As the suns heat was touching the spring blossoms, their volatile oils were being released and I was feeling uplifted.
And what a lot of blossoms there are following the cool April showers! A cocktail of scent! Catkins just going over, dandelions everywhere, snowy white hedges of blackthorn, little nodding violets, daisy’s underfoot, dead nettles and ground ivy in the hedgerows, delicate lady’s smock in the fields, cow parsley just beginning to open its umbels and bluebells on the banks of the stream. No wonder my olfactory system was having a field day!
The olfactory system is responsible for our sense of smell and connects directly to the limbic system of the brain. This is why certain smells so powerfully enhance our memory as they are so closely associated with emotions, also centered in the limbic system. The simple act of inhaling brings the scents into direct contact with the olfactory receptor cells within the nostrils, (in much the same way as the taste receptors of the tongue), then it is just a case of the chemical dissolving into the olfactory nerves of the brain, an area called the olfactory bulb.
Given that the scents of spring are so uplifting, I wondered what role dopamine plays in our sense of smell and as it turns out the olfactory bulb has the most numerous collection of dopaminergic cell groups so far identified in the CNS, (Pignatelli & Belluzzi, 2017). So our sense of smell is intimately related to our mood, motivation, pleasure and satisfaction. But then we already knew that didn’t we? Just think of how intoxicatingly delightful it is to stand upwind of a bluebell wood, or under a linden blossom tree. There is an old folk tale that says if you fall asleep under a linden blossom tree you will wake up in fairy land! This also makes me wonder how our sense of smell influences our creativity.
I guess in terms of creativity, we experience this freedom when relaxed. A whole host of spring flowers provides a cocktail of scents, some of which will be able to induce relaxation. However, I am sure the endorphins of exercise play a part, as does the increased supply of oxygen to the brain in the fresh air, as well as the deep diaphragmatic breathing that I was most definitely engaged in. I was taking in massive inhalations of air, great big deep lung-fulls. I couldn’t get enough! The act of which stretched my diaphragm which is known to engage the parasympathetic nervous system, or our rest state, which is exactly what we need in order to flow in our creative space.
But back to thinking about smell, I am reminded of the recent increased incidence of ‘anosmia’, or loss of smell due to COVID-19 infection, and that there is a link between anosmia and depression. Post-viral depression has also been a common aspect of COVID-19 and I wonder how much of this low mood relates to olfactory loss. In a study of the association between olfaction and depression, Kohli et al, (2016), conclude that the greater the loss of smell, the more severe the depressive symptoms. As a novel infection that has a strong impact upon the immune system, it is likely that the body becomes depleted in certain resources required for efficient functioning. Some people are finding zinc deficiency to be involved in olfactory dysfunction which is easily rectified with zinc supplementation.
Another approach is ‘smell training’ suggested by ‘Fifth Sense’ a charity that works with people who are experiencing loss of smell. They recommend choosing scents that represent the four smell categories: flowery, fruity, spicy and resinous, (Rimmer, 2021). I know that when I repeatedly smell a particular smell, it becomes more familiar and discernible. Like for example, my daughter being able to identify tincture of thyme just from one wiff of the bottle! (We sure do use a lot of thyme in our house!) The advice is to smell 4 different scents 2-4 times daily to exercise your sense of smell and reduce olfactory dysfunction associated with COVID-19, and I assume post-viral depression as well.
This suggestion makes some sense, as in ‘use it or lose it’, but I really do think there is a lot more to it. With 6 million olfactory receptors made up of over 400 different types, it is not just a case of one scent, one receptor, but rather a complex mixture of chemicals which stimulate a unique set of olfactory receptors. Isn’t it amazing that we are able to identify such a variety of combinations! And with its close relationship to the limbic system, emotions and mood, I imagine there is still plenty yet you learn about how the scents of plants affect the workings of the body and our behaviour.
Plants that contain volatile oils, (chemicals easily dissolved in the air as scent), within their oil glands, hairs and resin ducts, diffuse into the air on heating, such as from strong penetrating sunlight or cooking. I marvel at the extent of the chemical combinations that exist and the action they exert upon the human body. As herbalists we specifically use aromatic plants for their therapeutic applications, such as that of the mint-family to relax muscles that may be cramping, or as antimicrobials in infection. In fact, I am amazed when I look at the list of medicinal actions of plants containing essential oils: inflammation reducing (fennel), sedative (lavender), stimulant (rosemary), decongestant (thyme), antiviral (lemon balm), an
aesthetic (mint), antiseptic (tea tree), and immune stimulant (eucalyptus), among others. This variety of properties relates to the variety of volatile compounds within each plant. Ingested herbal medicines can be utilised to great effect, as well as aromatherapy using essential oils which concentrates all the volatile oil into a bottle. Pretty amazing to have such powerful agents at our disposal, and all from the nature’s bounty!
Still though, in terms of harnessing the power of plants as medicine, I’d say that a walk in the countryside on a sunny day, with its cocktail of spring scents, goes a really long way towards enhancing health in terms of relaxation, joy, freedom and creativity; and utilising our sense of smell is just so simple. All you have to do is breathe!
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