Your Body Knows When Death is Coming and it Starts With Your Nose

Taste, feel, sight, hearing, and sound all help us navigate the world. Our senses send signals to our bodies and brains sometimes before we are even conscious of it. Our sense of smell is one of these important indicators that can identify risks and opportunities in our environment. A study found that your nose might actually be able to predict when death is looming. Here’s how.

Sense of Smell is Important for Your Health

Smell is one of the biggest indicators of what we like to eat. It influences taste and other factors. But your sense of smell is actually very important for your health as well. Smell helps you identify potentially hazardous events such as fires or gas leaks.

A Previously Overlooked Sense With Important Implications

When human senses were beginning to be studied in the early 1900s, the sense of smell was commonly overlooked. Great minds like Darwin and Freud focused more on sight and overlooked the connections between smell and health, according to notable researchers like Donald Laird.

Evolutionary Purpose of Smell

Humans’ sense of smell is rooted in evolutionary practices as well. A strong sense of smell could help survival and reproduction, making it an essential. It’s a way to interact with the environment and identify risks and opportunities quickly.

How Does Smell Sense Death?

Fascinatingly, your body can actually predict many things before the mind becomes aware. Your nose may actually even be able to sense when death is looming, according to a study conducted by the Public Library of Science (PLOS). 

The Study’s Findings

The study, titled “Olfactory Dysfunction Predicts 5-Year Mortality in Older Adults”, found that loss of smell is a strong predictor of death in older individuals. According to the research, losing your sense of smell can predict death within 5 years.

Details of the Study

The study involves individuals between the ages of 57 and 85 years old. It aimed to gain insights about older individuals to gain knowledge and improve the well-being and quality of life of older Americans. 

Why Does Smell Change With Age?

Just like your taste buds, your sense of smell changes with age, but why? Namely, as we get older, the nerves in and around our noses start to deteriorate, which weakens our sense of smell. Reduced mucus production and gradual atrophy of the olfactory bulb also contribute to loss of smell. This slow nerve deterioration typically starts to happen around the age of 50.

A Five-Year Study With Fascinating Results

The researchers asked participants of the study to undergo a smell test in which they identified 5 common everyday smells: rose, peppermint, leather, orange, and fish. Five years later, the participants were asked to identify the same smells once again. 

The Importance of a Longterm Study Like This

A long-term study that examines the same participants over a set period of time is called a longitudinal study. When reviewing something like the sense of smell, it is important to conduct a longitudinal study like this to collect accurate data from the same group of people over a period of time, in this case, over several years.

What We Learned

12% of the participants passed away between the two smell tests. Of those who died, 39% had failed the first smell test, 19% had moderate smell loss on the first test, and only 10% had a healthy sense of smell. This indicated that those who had failed the initial test were 4 times more likely to die within five years than those who had a strong sense of smell.

Correlation Between Sense of Smell and Health Conditions

While the olfactory system is still an area of study that requires more funding and research, there have been some studies that indicate a link between poor smell and health conditions such as cardiovascular disease, underlying heart conditions, and dementia. Additionally, it has been connected to neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.

Correlation vs. Causation

It is important to note that loss of smell was not the cause of death. In fact, the researchers did not even study the cause of death of participants. Rather, the results showed that loss of smell could be an indicator of health decline. 

Building on the Findings

The same study has not been performed on younger people yet. The study researchers believe the study results could be built upon with more research to find more details on the impact of smell on health.

Natural Individual Variation in Sense of Smell

Outside of age and health conditions, individuals may naturally have a stronger or weaker sense of smell. Genetics, the number of olfactory receptors in the nose, and environmental factors can all have an impact on your sense of smell.

Temporary Changes in Sense of Smell

It is also important to note that there may be temporary changes to the sense of smell brought on by a variety of circumstances. Many women experience change in smell during pregnancy or ovulation, as a result of hormonal changes. Certain illnesses can, of course, temporarily change or diminish the sense of smell as well. A change in sense of smell is not always permanent, nor is it always a sign of health decline.

Smell and Memory

In addition to being a safety predictor, the sense of smell is also connected to memory. The way certain smells can jog particular memories or feelings has been a fascinating area of study for doctors. Using the sense of smell to inspire memory recall could have amazing implications on science and therapeutic practices.

Smell and Emotion

Not only does smell invite remarkably vivid memories, but it also helps recall the feelings associated with the memory as well. This makes it an extremely useful tool in psychology, science, and even criminology.

A Fascinating Study

For instance, in a study on the connection between smell and memory, participants were asked to describe a smell and what memory it reminded them of. In comparison to simply looking at pictures, the smell brought back much more vivid and descriptive memories and feelings than simply looking at the images.

Checking With a Medical Professional

The researchers who conducted the study on the link between loss of smell and risk of death stated the importance of seeing your medical provider if you notice your sense of smell weakening dramatically or suddenly.