What to do
Olfactory training, step by step
The routine takes about 1.3 minutes. Do it once in the morning and once in the evening, and keep going for at least four months. The point is not to test yourself. It is to pay deliberate attention to a smell, and to the memory that comes with it.
The four scents
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Rose
10–20 seconds each
Hold the bottle about a hand's width from your nose and breathe in slowly through your nose.
Think of a specific memory that involves the smell of roses, however small.
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Lemon
10–20 seconds each
Move on to the second scent and keep breathing in through your nose, not your mouth.
Picture the lemon itself — its colour, its peel, the sharpness of it.
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Clove
10–20 seconds each
Breathe in the third scent for the same length of time, at the same steady pace.
Recall a kitchen, a holiday, or a room where this smell found you.
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Eucalyptus
10–20 seconds each
Finish with the last scent. The whole sequence takes about a minute and a half.
Notice whether any of the four smells seem stronger today than last week.
Watch it done
The video walks through the same sequence, including how to breathe in and what to think about while you do it.
Common questions
Which scents can I use?
Rose, lemon, clove, and eucalyptus are the standard set. If one of them is unavailable, a strongly scented substitute is fine — the important part is that you can smell it clearly and that it is a scent you have a memory attached to.
What if I cannot smell anything at all?
That is a common starting point, and it is not a reason to skip the training. Work with the strongest scent you can detect and keep the routine going. If you notice no change at all after four months, it is worth raising with your doctor.
Does it hurt or have side effects?
No. It is inexpensive, non-invasive, and there is nothing to take and nothing to recover from. If a scent irritates your nose or gives you a headache, skip it and carry on with the others.
How long before I notice something?
Some people report noticing a difference within a few weeks. The research base most often recommends at least four full months before judging whether it has helped, and some people notice a change in mood or memory before they notice a change in smell.
Not a diagnosis
This page describes a research-backed exercise. It cannot tell you whether you have dementia, Parkinson's disease, or any other condition. If you are worried about changes in your sense of smell or your memory, please talk to your doctor.