The comforting power of scent when the nights draw in
There’s a particular moment every year when you realise summer is really over.
The evenings become noticeably shorter. The light starts to disappear earlier. You leave work in the dark, the mornings feel colder and suddenly the idea of spending an evening at home feels much more appealing.
The changing seasons can have a noticeable effect on how we feel. As the daylight hours decrease, creating small moments of comfort and pleasure at home can become an important part of settling into the darker months.
And one of the simplest ways to do that is through scent.
Why is smell so closely linked to memory?
Of all our senses, smell has an unusually close relationship with memory and emotion.
A particular fragrance can transport you somewhere almost instantly: sunscreen that reminds you of childhood holidays, freshly cut grass on a summer afternoon, the smell of a particular soap at your grandparents' house, or the scent of a hotel that takes you straight back to a favourite trip.
There’s a scientific reason for this.
The areas of the brain involved in processing smell have close connections with areas involved in emotion and memory, including the amygdala and hippocampus. Research into odour-evoked memories has found that memories triggered by smell can be particularly vivid and emotional, sometimes creating a strong feeling of being transported back to a particular time or place.
It’s why something as simple as catching a familiar scent in the air can suddenly make you think of a person, a place or a period of your life that you haven't thought about in years.
Balearic Elements, Orange Blend Reed Diffuser & Soy Wax Candle
Bringing a little summer back through scent
When the days are getting shorter, we can use that connection to create small moments of comfort.
Think about the scents that make you feel good.
Perhaps it's citrus because it reminds you of holidays in the Mediterranean. Maybe it's orange because it takes you back to wandering through a sunny market. Perhaps it's salty, marine notes that instantly remind you of being by the sea.
You can intentionally bring those associations into your home during the months when you might not be experiencing them outside.
A room filled with a familiar scent isn't going to recreate the sunshine, but it can bring back some of the feelings and memories associated with it.
Research has found that pleasant odours can influence mood and emotion, while positive autobiographical memories triggered by scent can be associated with increased positive feelings.
And perhaps that's part of the appeal of fragrance: it doesn't just make a room smell nice. It can make a room feel like somewhere.
Create small rituals that make the darker evenings feel good
There are plenty of simple ways to make the transition into autumn and winter feel a little more enjoyable.
Getting outside during daylight hours. Opening the curtains in the morning. Keeping up with the people and activities that make you feel good. Making time for movement and getting some fresh air.
Then there are the smaller things that simply make being at home feel good.
- Making your favourite meal.
- Putting music on while you cook.
- Fresh sheets and an early night.
- Wearing your favourite perfume at home.
- A warm bath.
- Curling up with a book.
- Lighting a candle while you make dinner.
Choose a scent that reminds you of somewhere you've been or somewhere you'd like to be.
None of these things needs to be a grand gesture. Sometimes it's the small sensory rituals that give an ordinary evening a little more atmosphere.
Let your home hold onto summer for a little longer
Perhaps that's one of the reasons we're so drawn to Mediterranean scents.
They remind us of somewhere warm when the weather outside is doing quite the opposite.
Citrus, herbs, woods, sea salt, blossom, sun-warmed landscapes. They're scents that can become attached to memories of holidays, long lunches, swimming in the sea and evenings spent outside long after sunset.
And when those memories are brought back through scent, you're not simply smelling something pleasant. You're reconnecting with a feeling.
So as the nights begin to draw in, perhaps there's something lovely in deliberately surrounding yourself with the things that make you feel good.
A little more light. A little more music. A little more time outside.
And perhaps, every now and then, a scent that reminds you that summer will come around again.