Experiment with olfactory cues. Try learning with a pleasant odour, such as the scent of a freshly cut apple or a favourite perfume. The scent you pick should ideally be used only when trying to memorise new material, not a scent that you would regularly use in other contexts as well.
- Apply the odour during the learning episode
- Apply the odour on the night you have learnt new material, for example apply the odour on an object e.g. potpourri the nightstand before sleeping.
- Smelling the same scent during the night can improve memory consolidation, enhancing the rewiring of neural networks associated with the learned material and improving its retrieval.
- To recall the learned content more effectively, reintroduce the same scent.
This olfactory learning cue can significantly aid in better retrieval of information. Clear effects are only found for being exposed to the odour during the night after learning.
Sorokowska, A., Nord, M., Stefańczyk, M. M., & Larsson, M. (2022). Odor-based context-dependent memory: influence of olfactory cues on declarative and nondeclarative memory indices. Learning & Memory, 29(5), 136-141.
