Pranatee Shah Week 13: Smell and Memory
Okay, I have to admit something.
I still sleep with my childhood blanket.
I know, EMBARRASSING.
But, I really can’t help it. My childhood blanket is hands-down the most cozy, warmest, softest blanket in the entire house. It's been with me for years now, and knows me inside out. At seven, I used it as a cape when playing make-believe “Little Red Riding Hood.” At eight, I draped it around me like a saree to imitate the Bollywood actresses in the movies my parents would watch. At nine, I used it as an indoor picnic blanket to have tea parties with all my stuffed animals.
Though the ways in which I use my childhood blanket keep changing, one thing has not: I HATE when my mother washes my blanket.
Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand the importance of cleanliness.
This might sound strange, but my blanket has a particular smell to it that only I can recognize. I’ve noticed that I frequently smell my blanket to feel comforted and relaxed. Even when I sleep, it always rests near my nose. Without its smell, my childhood blanket does not feel significant in any way. So, every time it comes freshly washed out of the laundry, the smell completely disappears and it no longer feels like my special blanket.
Smell has memories.
According to a magazine from Harvard Medical School titled “The Connections Between Smell, Memory, and Health,” our sense of smell is “deeply tied” to our cognitive centers and “memory centers.” When we smell, electrical signals are fired along axons to different parts of the brain. If the hippocampus (part of the brain responsible for learning and memory) deems a smell important, it can “store the information indefinitely.” Even years later, the same scent can bring back the memory and emotions of the moment.
So, smelling my childhood blanket goes further than simple relaxation. Rather, the comfort it brings subconsciously brings back happy childhood memories I associate with it.
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| A diagram of the structures in the brain responsible for associating memory with scent (Groleau). |
I too love the little blankets (even stuffed animals) from when I was young, but I’ve never been attached to their smells—I’ve always been attracted to the way they feel. I, personally, love it whenever my mom washes my blankets for one specific reason—that warm fuzzy feeling when it comes right out of the dryer. Whenever it comes out fresh from the laundry, I don’t mind the clean smell—what matters most is that feeling of warmth and fuzziness that wraps around me and lifts me up. Have you ever felt your blanket fresh out of the dryer, and if so, have you liked that feeling?
ReplyDeleteHey Pranatee! Your blog was very touching and you definitely shouldn’t be embarrassed about sleeping with your childhood blanket. I also sleep with my favorite plushies (although I do switch it out since I have such an extensive collection) as it brings me comfort and warmth. Blankets have always held a special place in my heart too, so I totally understand where you’re coming from. With my plushies, I can still smell the nostalgic scent of the old soaps I used to use when I was younger. Even after hundreds of washes, the smell is still prominent and gives me a peak into my past. It’s also interesting how important smell is to us and how it plays a key role in memory. Reading about the hippocampus and subconscious also reminded me greatly of what I learned about in psychology class. I’m glad you still have a piece of your past to remind you have of happy moments!
ReplyDeleteHi Pranatee, I think your story about the blanket is quite sweet, not at all embarrassing! I tend to cling onto the stuffed animals that I have had since I was young; when my dad tried to throw them away, I transformed into a child again, never wanting to let go. I completely agree with the fact that smell holds memories, and I see that most with my friends and family. My grandma’s scent of perfume still lingers throughout my house after she left for India a few days ago, and once I go into a certain corner or crevice of my house and smell her scent, it makes the emotions of sadness and despair revive immediately, from when she left. My mom’s scent of her moisturizer, or the smell of my car, gives me comfort whenever I encounter it, and it’s cool to see the science behind this normal, almost daily occurrence for me. It is amazing how if we store a scent as a memory, it can last indefinitely. That’s a great fact, and I can see the many ways it is integrated into my life today. My whole house is filled with memories based on scent, and thank you for giving me this opportunity to appreciate it. Good job!
ReplyDeleteThis blog was very heartwarming. While I cannot personally say that I have felt anything like this, I like reading about other people being attached to objects; as it seems nice to have an object be able to provide comfort with a dose of nostalgia. I do like certain objects that I have disdain for throwing away, but I cannot say I have an extreme attachment to them…I do not have this feeling of nostalgia when it comes to them. There are not any objects from my childhood that I have kept and remained attached to until now. Perhaps I am capable of it or perhaps I am not, I guess I will never know. As for getting attached to the smell, I guess I can understand getting attached to a scent. Although that only extends to scents that I think smell nice and make me feel relaxed, I can imagine that nostalgia can play a role in giving more favorable memories of the scent. I see it all the time with people who appreciate the media of their childhood and favor it more than stuff nowadays.
ReplyDeleteHey Pranatee! It is absolutely not embarrassing to sleep with your childhood blanket (I still sleep with mine). Every night, when I go to sleep, I am reminded of the fact that this soft, white piece of cloth with the silk edges has been with me through the nap times at Montessori, the tears shed when my parents would scold me, and the superhero games my sister and I would play together with our baby blanket capes. It has been with me through my first sleepovers, uncomfortable airplane rides, and through every day of my life. Even as I write this, Riley, my beagle, is sitting curled on my baby blanket at the edge of my bed. I think he understands the sentiment and comfort it holds. My blanket holds the smell of my home in Chicago, of the trips to India, of Riley and it brings me nothing but joy. It’s a reminder of all the beautiful memories that have passed and all of the beautiful ones that are yet to come, knowing that there are certain constants in life that will be there to witness it all. I loved reading your blog this week! It brought me down my favorite path: nostalgia. Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Pranatee, smell is most definitely one of the key triggers of memories and even nostalgia. Whenever I think of nostalgia related to smell, my mind always goes back to the indescribable feeling when you smell a random smell that takes you straight back to your childhood, but you just can't know what that smell is. As 21 pilots put it in their iconic Stressed Out, "Sometimes a certain smell will take me back to when I was young How come I'm never able to identify where it's coming from?" Even just what may seem silly like sleeping with your childhood blanket or keeping old stuffed animals, you know what they say, smells linger. And those lingering smells will always bring back those memories for you, whether you're conscious of it or not.
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