Your Brain and Your Nose: Working Together

We all know meditation and mindfulness is helpful for an overactive brain. But what about smell?

Kayt Suke's article, "A Rose by Any Other Name: How our Sense of Smell Influences Cognition," published by the Dana Foundation, explores the role of breathing in memory and mindfulness. Neuroscientists suggest consciously using smell to trigger memory and consciously using breathing to control your brain. Pretty cool stuff!

According to "Alfredo Fontanini, a researcher who studies olfaction and the brain at the State University of New York at Stony Brook, [...] evidence is showing that smell matters quite a bit to overall cognition. “This work pushes the idea that the role of the olfactory system isn’t just to detect chemicals and odors. It goes beyond that. It suggests that it also plays this really important integrative role in cognition.”"

How does this apply to students or individuals with ADHD? Consider how you can intentionally trigger a memory with a scent. For example, using a cinnamon “smencil” while recopying notes and then using the same pencil for the test really works!  Popping a tic tac while reciting vocabulary then popping the same one right before a quiz can help, too. As your mind coach, we can work together to find techniques that help you get your overactive brain to work for you, not against you.