Spending a while outside to smell things in nature might help us feel relaxed and add to our positive well-being, in keeping with a recent study.

It’s well-known that spending time in nature is inherently good for us. In accordance with previous studies, nature contributes to our physical, emotional, and mental well-being, which is why gardening is thought to assist provide leisure and peace of mind.

A recent study has found that smells also play a crucial role in delivering advantages from interacting with nature. Often, that is as a consequence of a powerful link to the private memories of individuals, in addition to specific ecological characteristics and processes.

Published in Ambio, the research was led by the University of Kent’s Durrell Institute of Conservation and Ecology (DICE). It examined the role of smell in influencing well-being through nature. The researchers found that smells affected multiple kinds of human well-being, especially physical well-being.

The absence of smell was also perceived to enhance physical well-being since it offers a cleansing environment with none pollution or unwanted smell related to urban areas. This, in turn, enables leisure, which reduces stress and lowers the body’s cortisol levels. Since high cortisol levels are sometimes linked to certain diseases, the researchers imagine that the findings might be crucial to public health professionals.

Co-led by Dr. Jessica Fisher, a postdoctoral research associate at DICE, the research was carried out in woodland settings across 4 seasons. Many study participants created meaningful connections with particular smells, which influenced their well-being by scary emotional reactions to the memories they made. The findings also showed that smells evoked memories related to childhood activities the participants used to do. Lots of the participants also connected with smells greater than the woodland itself.

“Nature is a multisensory experience, and our research demonstrates the potential significance of smell for well-being,” said Dr. Fisher. “The study provides findings that may inform the work of practitioners, public health specialists, policy-makers and landscape planners seeking to improve well-being outcomes through nature. Small interventions could lead on to public health advantages.”