Does Smell Help Us Study? What Science Says About Scent, Memory, and Motivation
“Does smell count as an Anti-Boring Study Sense?
And could it actually help us learn?”
This question jumped out at me recently. I was settling into my favorite morning ritual — making a hot cup of coffee and logging in to the Learning Lab to read reflections from educators working through our Anti-Boring Study Skills modules.
I clicked on a notification from our Learning Styles Are Dead module, where we trade the old VAK (Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic) myth for a more practical and evidence-based model for talking to students about their learning: the Study Senses.
The coach who posted was musing about whether we really should add “smell” to the study senses, as she’d heard that it is strongly linked to memory.
I must admit—my first thought was, “If smell has a big impact on learning, surely the Science of Learning folks would be talking about it alongside retrieval practice, elaboration, spaced repetition, and all the other evidence-based strategies they espouse.” (Spoiler alert: they aren’t).
But still—I couldn’t resist. I love a good question about learning. And now I have multiple research assistants at my fingertips to help me dig: Perplexity. Gemini. ChatGPT.
I asked all of them:
Are there peer-reviewed studies on smell and learning? And if so, what do they actually say?
I found a whole lot of interesting stuff, which you’ll read about below. So if you’re curious too, read on!
TL;DR
If you don’t have time to read the whole post, here are the main learning nuggets:
Researchers have studied smell and memory, but the effects are small, inconsistent, and only show up under very specific conditions.
Smell is far more reliable as a mood and anxiety support than a memory booster—helpful for finals studying, but not a magic trick.
Smell can be a motivational hook for some students who love thoughtfully curating their study vibes, but it’s not a fifth Study Sense.
This blog may resonate most with:
Academic coaches and tutors preparing students for finals
EF/ADHD coaches supporting motivation and study follow-through
Classroom teachers who enjoy science-backed, student-centered learning strategies
Now, let’s dive into the research:
What Scientists Have Actually Tested
When I started digging into this question, I expected a few studies about smell and learning. But wowser, there’s more than I thought!
The current research literature seems to explore seven different angles of how smell connects to learning, memory, attention, mood, and even sleep.
For funsies, let’s do a “least you need to know” gallop through each category, and check out a sample research study that represents each.
1. Smell as a Memory Reminder (Context-Dependent Learning)
This body of research looks at whether we remember better when we (1) study with a smell present and then (2) smell that same thing again later when we are being tested about what we remember.
The study:
Odor-based context-dependent memory (Sorokowska et al., 2022)
Participants:
131 adults, most of whom were university students, from age 18 to 53
What they did:
Participants read short paragraphs while smelling a specific scent. Later, they took a memory test with either the same scent or a different one.
What they found:
People remembered a little more when the smell matched, but the benefit was small and limited to delayed free recall of written prose.
What this means for studying:
Smell can help as a reminder (sort of. maybe. somewhat), but only in narrow situations and mostly for verbal information.
2. Aromatherapy and Anxiety (The Strongest Evidence We Have)
Here’s where the science is actually solid: smell can reduce test anxiety. For example:
The study:
Aromatherapy with inhalation effectively alleviates test anxiety (Luan et al., 2023)
Participants:
425 college students in seven randomized trials
What they did:
Researchers pulled together seven different experiments where college students were about to take real tests or test-like exams. In each study, some students breathed in scents like lavender or rose (from diffusers, cotton pads, or inhalers), while others got no scent or a “fake” scent. Then the students rated how anxious they felt before or during the test.
What they found:
Lavender and rose scents helped students feel less anxious before tests.
What this means for studying:
Smell affects mood—not necessarily memory—but a calmer student often performs better.
3. Specific Scents and Alertness (The “Rosemary Effect”)
Some studies explore whether particular scents increase alertness or focus. For example:
The study:
Rosemary aroma and cognitive performance (Moss & Oliver, 2012)
Participants:
20 healthy young adults
What they did:
Students came into a lab and sat in a small room for thinking and memory tests. Some of them worked in air that smelled like rosemary, and others sat in the same room with no added scent. Everyone then did tasks that required fast thinking, like matching symbols or remembering information quickly.
What they found:
People exposed to rosemary aroma did slightly better on tasks requiring quick thinking.
What this means for studying:
Smells can nudge attention, but the effects are small and don’t replace proven study strategies like retrieval practice.
4. Negative Conditioning (Smell Can Backfire)
This bucket of research provides a helpful caution — odors can attach to negative experiences. For example:
The study:
Ambient odors associated to failure influence cognitive performance (Epple & Herz, 1999)
Participants:
60 children, most of whom were around 5 years old
What they did:
The kids did a maze that was designed to be hard and a bit frustrating. In one group, the room had a particular background smell while they struggled with the maze; in another group, that smell wasn’t there. Later, the kids did new tasks either with or without that same smell in the air, and the researchers looked at how well they performed.
What they found:
If students struggled or got frustrated while smelling a specific scent, that same scent later triggered worse performance on future tasks.
What this means for studying:
Smell carries emotional meaning—good or bad. A scent used during stressful studying could become linked to stress.
5. Smell During Sleep (Cool Science, Not Practical Yet)
Here’s where things get sci-fi: some research pairs smells with learning during deep sleep. For example:
The study:
How odor cues help to optimize learning during sleep in a real-life setting (Neuman et al., 2020)
Participants:
Two 6th grade classes consisting of 32 and 22 German students
What they did:
The two classes learned foreign-language vocabulary in their regular classroom while a specific scent was in the room. That night, the researchers used special equipment to quietly release the same scent near some students while they were in deep sleep, but not for others. Later on, all the students took vocabulary tests so the team could see who remembered more words.
What they found:
Students who smelled the same scent during study and during deep sleep remembered more vocabulary.
But:
This requires special equipment to time scent delivery to a specific sleep stage.
What this means for studying:
Nothing yet. It’s a fun research experiment, but not practical for real life studying since it included a bunch of expensive equipment that administer the smells during sleep.
6. Training Our Sense of Smell
This huge body of research focused on whether we can actually improve the brain’s function by training people how to use smell. For example:
The study:
Does olfactory training improve brain function and cognition? (Vance et al 2023)
Participants:
This article is a systematic review of 18 studies on olfactory training, including a total of 1,012 participants, mostly adults and older adults.
What they did:
The authors collected past studies where people practiced smelling a set of scents every day for weeks or months. Participants sniffed specific odors (like lemon, rose, or clove) in a structured routine, and researchers tested their memory, thinking skills, and brain activity before and after this “smell training.”
What they found:
Practicing smelling different scents every day can lead to small improvements in verbal learning and changes in brain areas involved in memory.
What this means for studying:
Smell interacts with memory systems in the brain, but it doesn’t translate directly to better homework performance.
7. Smells in Real Classrooms
Finally— there were some studies that actually took place in schools (huzzah!). For example:
The study:
Effect of ambient odor on cognitive functions in children (Rodionova & Minor 2017 )
Participants:
120 elementary students
What they did:
Primary-school students in Russia took routine language tests (including a word dictation) in a normal classroom. On some days, the room was gently scented with peppermint; on other days, there was no added smell.
What they found:
Students scored higher on the dictation test when peppermint odor was present, likely because the scent increased attention and alertness, rather than because the smell itself became a strong memory cue for the material.
What this means for studying:
Peppermint seemed to help in this one specific situation (elementary students, language dictation, low-level peppermint in the air). But studies like this are rare, and we don’t yet know if similar effects would show up for older students, other subjects, or different scents. It’s an interesting hint—not a general rule that “smell boosts grades.”
What This Means for Real Students (and Those of Us Who Coach Them)
So let’s return to the original question: Does smell “count” as one of our Anti-Boring Study Senses?
Short answer: no.
Smell won’t help a student memorize vocabulary, master math procedures, or recall information the way retrieval practice, quizzable notes, teaching the material out loud, or manipulating ideas will.
Longer answer: smell can support studying—just not as a learning sense. Instead, it lives in the world of motivation, vibe, and identity, which are often the hidden engines behind whether students actually start working.
For some learners—especially those who love dark academia aesthetics or carefully curated study spaces—lighting a candle or choosing a scent can feel grounding or inspiring. It’s not about neuroscience. It’s about creating a moment that says, “Okay, I’m beginning now.”
From a practical standpoint, here’s what the research suggests:
Smell won’t replace effective strategies. Students still need the Study Senses—seeing, hearing, talking, and manipulating—to learn deeply.
Smell can help with mood and “study mode.” A gentle scent might help someone feel calmer (lavender), more alert (peppermint), or more energized (citrus).
Effects are personal. What feels supportive for one student might overwhelm or distract another.
Matching smells (study → test) only helps a little. And even then, far less than retrieval practice or spaced study does.
It’s okay if students want to experiment. A cotton ball with a drop of essential oil or a lightly scented candle can be a fun way to set the vibe.
And here’s something I always say when we teach the Study Senses: knowing what’s evidence-based matters—but it’s even more important for students to do the research on themselves.
The best learning happens when students notice what actually supports their focus, their mood, and their willingness to begin. Smell may not change memory in the lab, but if it helps a real student feel calmer, more grounded, or more ready to begin? That’s meaningful data, too.
If a student brings up a question about smell while you’re teaching the Study Senses mini-lecture, here’s language I recommend:
“Smell won’t do the learning for you, but if having a scent nearby helps you feel more focused, calm, or ready, it can be a lovely part of your study ritual. The key is choosing what works for you.”
A few gentle questions you can invite students to explore:
What scent makes your study space feel welcoming or inspiring?
What small ritual helps your brain shift into “study mode” when you need to focus?
When does a sensory cue feel grounding—and when does it feel distracting?
If a scent helps someone feel more connected to their “studious self,” that’s worth celebrating. And if it doesn’t, no harm done. The heavy lifting of learning still belongs to the Anti-Boring Study Cycle and Study Senses and the well-tested strategies that help students move information from short-term to long-term memory.
Smell is optional.
Motivation is precious.
And agency is everything.
A Note About Neurodiversity and Smell
Before we wrap up, it’s worth naming something important: most of the research on smell and learning is done with neurotypical participants.
What we do know from sensory-processing research is that many neurodivergent learners experience smell differently:
some have a heightened sensitivity to odors;
others have a reduced ability to notice or identify certain scents; and
some have strong preferences or aversions that are tied to sensory overwhelm, routine, or emotional regulation.
Researchers studying sensory processing in autism, for example, have found consistent differences in how individuals identify and interpret smells. Studies of ADHD show smaller and less consistent differences, but enough to remind us that smell is not a neutral experience for everyone.
These olfactory differences often connect to the broader sensory landscape a student is navigating—sound, light, texture, movement—and can shape how they feel in classrooms and study spaces. These differences can also shape how much of their brain is available for thinking in any given learning moment (versus processing the sensory data around them).
Even a gentle scent that feels grounding or motivating for one student might be distracting, overwhelming, or outright unpleasant for another. As with all sensory-based tools, there’s truly no one-size-fits-all here.
Smell can be playful and motivating for some—but for neurodivergent learners especially, agency may be the most important “sense” of all.
Want to Learn More?
If you enjoyed this conversation about how sensory tools support learning, you will love the Study Senses mini-lecture we teach inside the Anti-Boring Learning Lab. It’s one of our cornerstone tools for academic coaches, EF coaches, and classroom educators.
Learn more about the study senses here.
Join the Lab here.
Not ready to join the Lab yet?
You can still get started by signing up for our free resource library, where you’ll learn the Study Cycle mini-lecture—the perfect precursor to the Study Senses.
Both resources help you guide students toward study strategies that actually work (with or without scented candles).
Visit our free library here.
References
Epple, G., & Herz, R. S. (1999). Ambient odors associated to failure influence cognitive performance in children. Developmental Psychobiology, 35(2), 103–107. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10461124/
Luan, J., Yang, M., Zhao, Y., Zang, Y., Zhang, Z., & Chen, H. (2023). Aromatherapy with inhalation effectively alleviates the test anxiety of college students: A meta-analysis. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1042553. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1042553/full
Moss, M., & Oliver, L. (2012). Plasma 1,8-cineole correlates with cognitive performance following exposure to rosemary essential oil aroma. Therapeutic Advances in Psychopharmacology, 2(3), 103–113. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/2045125312436573
Neumann, F., Oberhauser, V., & Kornmeier, J. (2020). How odor cues help to optimize learning during sleep in a real-life setting. Scientific Reports, 10, 12226. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-57613-7
Rodionova, E. I., & Minor, A. V. (2017). Effect of ambient odor on cognitive functions in children. Biology Bulletin of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 44, 425–429. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1134/S1062359017040112
Vance, D. E., Del Bene, V. A., Kamath, V., Sandson Frank, J., Billings, R., & Fazeli, P. L. (2024). Does olfactory training improve brain function and cognition? A systematic review. Neuropsychology Review, 34, 155–191. https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11065-022-09573-0
Wulff, S. M., Hackländer, R. P., & Bermeitinger, C. (2022). Odor-based context-dependent memory: Influence of olfactory cues on declarative and nondeclarative memory indices. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 780702. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35483742/