FAQ

• My sense of smell seems fine. Why would I train it?
  Most of us only think about smell once something changes. But olfactory training and enrichment have also been studied in healthy adults and healthy older adults. One reason is the growing interest in cognitive reserve and resilience — the brain’s capacity to adapt and maintain function as we age. Sensory stimulation is part of that larger conversation, and smell is especially interesting because of its close connections with brain regions involved in memory and emotion.

  In one study of healthy older adults, six months of olfactory enrichment was associated with improved verbal memory and measurable changes in a brain pathway important to memory.

  We train our bodies and challenge our brains. Smell doesn’t have to remain the forgotten sense.

• What if I can’t smell one of the scents?
  Keep training. Rather than sniffing harder, smell more deliberately — almost as though you’re searching for the scent. Give it your full attention. Looking at an image of what you’re smelling, saying its name and recalling what it smelled like before can also help engage the process.

• What if I can smell something, but I can’t tell what it is?
  That’s okay. Detecting an odour and identifying it are different parts of smell function. Notice and pay attention: you don’t need to get the answer “right” for the training to count.

• What if I can’t smell anything at all?
  Olfactory training has been widely studied in people with acquired smell loss, particularly following viral illness. Even if you detect nothing at first, continue presenting the scents consistently and directing your attention toward them. Progress can take time.

  If you have never had a sense of smell, that is different from losing it later in life; congenital anosmia has different causes and much less evidence for olfactory training.

• How long do the inhalers last?
  With regular twice-daily use, each set is designed to last approximately four months. Keep the inhalers capped between sessions and store them away from heat and direct sunlight.