This Might Be The Most Overlooked Wellness Tool

Not a supplement, an app, or a device. Just your nose—and what it’s been trying to tell you all along.

It’s in the air! Photo: Justin Steele

I am waiting for it to smell like summer.

Do you know what I mean? There’s always a moment before the seasons change when I breathe in the one that’s around the corner.

My first intense aromatic memory—the kind I knew, right then and there, would stick with me—was when I was 14. I was in the Ozarks of Missouri, playing in the state tennis championships (the year before this happened). It was the very end of October.

My team and coach were out to dinner. It was dark and cold. In the parking lot, right after climbing out of the van with the other girls, I caught a whiff of winter. It smelled like the sharp scent of snow, heavy with a wistful thrill that I didn’t understand yet. (The approaching holidays? Homecoming weekend?) Time cinematically slowed down with my realization that I had a new superpower…it felt like I’d grown an antenna that could predict with utmost certainty that winter was around the bend.

And wouldn’t you know it, snow flurries fell the next morning as we warmed up in sweats under our skirts. Ever since then, without fail, I can pinpoint the exact moment I know that the earth is spinning another season our way.

I write a lot about strength training and protein here. Today, I want to make the case for your nose. I think it’s up there—or even eclipses—all of the biohacking tools that get so much press these days.

Scent Is Time Travel

It’s comfort, mood, memory, and—it turns out—science.

Our sense of smell is deeply connected to the limbic system, the part of the brain responsible for emotion, memory, and behavior. Unlike other senses, smell bypasses the thalamus and goes directly to these emotional and memory-processing areas. That’s why a scent can jolt you back to childhood in a way a photo can’t.

Even from the very beginning of life, scent is a powerful connector. Newborns can recognize their mother’s smell within days of birth—sometimes within hours. One study found that 3-day-olds turned their heads toward a pad worn by their mother, even when she wasn’t in the room. (Moms can also recognize their infant’s scent. Wild stuff.) A mother’s scent can soothe a crying baby, lower his/her heart rate, and signal safety. In some ways, smell operates like language before we can even speak.

Sharpened pencils herald the start of autumn, but for me the real beginning of a new school year smells like reopening an old book. It takes me back to the library in the basement of my elementary school…after they remodeled the space one summer, it didn’t smell quite the same. I missed the mustiness.

Odor-evoked memories are more emotional and vivid than those triggered by visual or verbal cues, according to research in Frontiers in Psychology. And the effect is particularly powerful when the scent is tied to a person or place from our formative years. So it makes sense that I remember exactly where I was, what I was doing, and how I felt on that late fall night or back in third grade. And it also tracks that I have remembered—no, felt—those sensations over again, every single year since.

Spring? To me it smells like freshly cut grass and salty sweat. I remember my senior year of high school, playing a weekday soccer game on my birthday, April 7. It was warm and sunny. I knew my family would be waiting to celebrate with a special dinner and cake as I walked in the front door that evening. I was endorphin-ed up, yes, but it was the tufts of grass smeared all over my knees and wafting up to my nose that rewired my brain permanently.

That night will forever be the essence of spring to me. And I’m so lucky I get to experience it every year—a little later, because NYC weather—with my son George’s matches.

The Original Vibe Check

There’s compelling science showing that scent plays a major role in physical attraction. Our bodies release chemical cues through sweat and skin oils called pheromones, which are detected by a part of the brain involved in emotion, memory, and instinctual behavior.

We don’t consciously smell pheromones the way we might notice a fragrant bouquet of flowers or a smoldering barbecue. But some researchers believe they’re detected by parts of the brain involved in emotion, memory, and instinctual behavior…even if we aren’t aware of the scent in real time.

There’s a growing body of research suggesting that scent influences who we feel drawn to, both platonically and physically. And by that I mean friendship chemistry and sexual attraction.

Same-sex friends who clicked instantly had more similar body odor than random pairs, per a study in the journal Science Advances. They even had people sniff each other’s T-shirts—and those with the most similar body odor were significantly more likely to report an instant connection.

Another famous sweaty T-shirt study from the University of Bern explored how scent impacts physical attraction. In it, women smelled the unwashed tees of men and rated their attractiveness with only that data point. They were more drawn to the scent of men whose immune system genes (specifically their major histocompatibility complex) were different from their own. Scientists posit that this genetic diversity is beneficial for potential offspring—and may be nature’s way of nudging us toward good reproductive matches.

Other studies have found that women’s scent preferences shift depending on where they are in their menstrual cycle—preferring more “masculine” or dominant-smelling partners when fertile. And some research even suggests that hormonal birth control can blunt this preference, which has raised interesting questions about how modern interventions might subtly influence who we’re drawn to.

It’s not just about physical intimacy, though. Scent can influence how safe and emotionally connected we feel with someone, as when people with heightened stress showed significantly lower cortisol levels when exposed to the scent of a loved one in a Psychological Science study. In the same paper, women smelling their partner’s shirt had reduced cortisol responses during a stressful mock job interview, compared to those who smelled a stranger’s shirt. (Hugging your partner’s hoodie when you miss them? It’s cute, but it’s also science.)

There’s a lot we don’t fully understand about how scent influences sex and desire, but safe to say that it’s primal, it’s powerful, and it’s one of the most underrated factors in human chemistry. Scent can be a social compass, steering us toward safety, synchrony, and sometimes, sparks.

Scent As A Performance Enhancer

Smell doesn’t just light sparks between us or tug on our memories. It also influences mood, stress, and even hormone levels. In one fascinating study published in Scientific Reports, researchers found that sniffing pleasant odors reduced markers of stress and anxiety—specifically by influencing the brain’s hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis. It’s the same stress system that cortisol activates.

Especially for those of us navigating the highs and lows of midlife, scent may be an underutilized tool for focus and calm. Essential oils like bergamot have been shown in randomized controlled trials to reduce anxiety and improve sleep quality. And lavender essential oil was found to improve sleep in people with mild insomnia, per a meta-analysis in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine. Citrus oils like lemon have been shown to boost alertness and mood while jasmine has been linked to heightened brain activity in small studies. (There’s so much more research when you go down the rabbit hole!)

Scientists have even found that certain aromas can improve reaction time, focus, and perceived exertion during physical activity. For example, inhaling peppermint oil during treadmill exercise was linked to enhanced concentration and reduced fatigue, per a Chemical Senses study.

In a way, scent operates like a low-lift biohack. It’s noninvasive, non-tech, and immediately effective. Just a deeply primal input that can shift how we feel and function, without a single tap on your phone or a supplement to swallow. It’s the original nervous system regulator.

Smell can also be part of your broader wellness strategy. Much like the ritual of a morning cold plunge or some pre-bedtime magnesium, incorporating scent can serve as a physiological and psychological anchor. Pleasant odors modulate neural circuits in ways that help reduce negative emotions, according to research published in Behavioural Brain Research. Translation: It enhances working memory, meaning scent doesn’t just alter how we feel, it can also change how we perform.

Someone bottle this feeling into a scent, please; everything in my medicine cabinet smells good (okay, except the supps); candles = sense (scents?!) of place; tennis balls are awesomely aromatic.

Scents That Move Me

Essential oils aren’t the only way to engage with scent. Maybe it’s homemade cinnamon rolls. Or your mom’s perfume. Mine wears Chanel’s Coco Mademoiselle, and sometimes my kids will say, delightedly, It smells like grandma! when a woman walks by wearing a similar fragrance. (She wore Diorissimo By Dior, a potent lily of the valley fragrance, while I was growing up. Sadly it was discontinued years ago.) Or just-washed sheets. My God, I sleep so well on those Tide-fresh, crisp nights.

Scent is powerful—but it doesn’t have to be fancy. Practicing some intention with scent can shift your energy—kickstart a morning or ease you into the night. Here are a few highlights of how I use scent in my own life…

• Brewing coffee at dawn. Even when I was pregnant, I continued brewing decaf because I needed that smell every morning.

• I try to play it cool so I don’t freak anyone out. But! My children’s hair. Babies. Whoever I’m hugging.

• Spraying eucalyptus into my shower’s stream. It somehow chills me out and invigorates me all at once. My daughter Lucy now does this, too.

• My dog Willa’s paws and ears. They smell pungently yeasty, or sometimes tortilla chip-y. And I know it probably sounds odd, but the funkiness absolutely melts me.

• I light a New Savant candle when I need to lock in and write. My favorite is Dreamgirl, which includes “notes of Coca-Cola, brushed leather, cherries, and washed denim.” It’s nostalgia for my teenage years on a wick.

• I work in wellness; you knew this was coming. Palo Santo and sage. Ugh, they’re yoga and hot springs and happiness. PSA: Dove’s whole body deodorant for men in aloe + bamboo is legit giving Le Labo’s Palo Santo 14.

• If there is freshly-squeezed grapefruit juice on your menu, I’m ordering it. Then I’m drinking optimism with every bright, citrusy sip. Probably an evolution of my 7th grade obsession with The Body Shop’s “Fuzzy Peach” body oil (RIP).

• I absolutely die for Aesop everything, but especially the Rind Concentrate Body Balm and Herbal Deodorant spray. I discovered the brand early in my Women’s Health tenure, and it’s the closest thing I have to a signature scent. (I don’t wear perfume.)

• Sunbum sunscreen is like summer in a bottle and every time I rub it on my kiddos’ sweet, innocent skin it makes me feel a little emotional. I’m serious.

• The poppy, green felt scent that emerges when you pull the tin top off of a can of tennis balls feels like possibility to me. Which explains why I love the Ball Boy air freshener from Vacation.

In our pursuit of feeling good, better, best, so many of us are chasing new wellness tools…new protocols, new supplements. But scent? It’s always been there. And it might be the softest, swiftest way to regulate your nervous system, change your mood, and find yourself again. In a world that pushes us to speed up, swipe constantly, and let’s be honest, numb out, scent forces us into slow-motion so we can savor the moment.

I haven’t smelled summer yet. But I know it’s coming. And I can’t wait.

I am not sure how this will sound—which is why I’m burying it here at the very end—but sometimes when I stare into the night sky, I feel heartbroken for every astronaut who’ll never get to inhale the scent of moon dust because of their space helmet. Can you imagine that core aromatic memory? Photo by Ganapathy Kumar via Unsplash.

I would love to know: What scent takes you somewhere? What do you reach for when you need a mood shift?