I am in the middle of a legal dispute with a contractor who I now suspect is suffering from cognitive decline.
We have had positive experiences with this individual in the past. Yet his current behavior—countless mistakes, delays, constant confusion over project and cost details, fits of rage in response to seemingly benign questions—makes no sense…
I was sharing the unusual behavior with a colleague who pointed out that confusion, poor judgment, and uncontrolled rage were early signs of cognitive decline.
Suddenly, his behavior made a lot more sense, and it reminded me of a recent study I had seen on the benefit of olfactory stimulation for cognitive decline.
The Role of Smell in Cognitive Decline?
Cognitive decline refers to a gradual loss of mental abilities, such as memory, attention, reasoning, judgment, and the ability to complete complex tasks.
Interestingly, your sense of smell is strongly tied to cognitive function and can help restore function when impaired. Research has found that impaired smell is one of the earliest and most common symptoms of cognitive decline.
Your sense of smell— or olfactory channel— declines with age. However, increasing evidence suggests that smell dysfunction is also an early sign of neurodegenerative diseases (like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s).
Research published in Lancet Neurology proposes that damage to neurotransmitter and neuromodulator receptors in the forebrain may be a common link in the smell impairment associated with neurodegenerative diseases, including Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. More than 90 percent of Parkinson’s patients report some level of olfactory dysfunction. Similarly, almost all patients diagnosed with Alzheimer’s suffer from odor-identification issues.
Studies have shown impaired smell to be even stronger than memory problems as a predictor of cognitive decline in currently healthy adults, as it can precede the classic motor signs of the disease by several years.
The research also highlights the role of faulty brain chemistry, particularly involving the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, in the smell impairment that accompanies neurodegenerative disease.
Symptoms of Cognitive Decline
The decline of mental abilities associated with cognitive decline may include:
- Memory Problems, including difficulty remembering recent events or conversations
- Impaired Reasoning and judgment
- Difficulty with problem-solving, decision-making, planning, or completing tasks
- Reduced concentration or attention
- Slowed thinking or processing
- Confuse details, Trouble understanding or interpreting written or verbal information.
- Poor focus or attention span, increased distractibility
- Mood changes, including rage, irritability, and impatience
- Language Issues, including difficulty finding words, “losing your train of thought,” repeating stories, or trouble understanding or following conversations
Benefits of Olfactory Stimulation
Inhaling essential oils may help increase odor stimulation, which has been shown to improve the brain’s memory centers. This may be because the olfactory system is the only sensory system with direct projections to the limbic system, which is crucial for memory and emotion.
The loss of olfactory stimulation is believed to cause the brain’s memory centers to deteriorate. Research has noted that cognitive decline is accompanied or even preceded by a loss of sense of smell.
Research has found that “the olfactory sense is the only sense that has direct access to the memory centers of the brain and [aromatherapy] is a good way to stimulate those centers with little effort.”
Some research indicates that regular exposure to multiple scents or odorants — a practice known as olfactory enrichment — can benefit cognitive abilities.
A new clinical study found “significant improvements” in cognitive skills—like verbal fluency and short-term memory—after exposure to essential oil blends of multiple odorants.
The study found improved verbal function, word list recall, decreased depression symptoms, improved functioning, and increased thickness in the parts of the brain known to deteriorate during cognitive decline. “The change in the thickness (in brain regions like the hippocampus, thalamus, and frontal cortex) was positively associated with improved executive function.
More specifically, the uncinate fasciculus—a significant pathway connecting the basolateral amygdala and the entorhinal cortex to the prefrontal cortex—deteriorates in aging and has been suggested to play a role in mediating episodic memory, language, socio-emotional processing, and selecting among competing memories during retrieval.
Essential Oils for Cognitive Decline
Some research indicates that regular exposure to multiple scents or odorants—a practice known as olfactory enrichment—can benefit cognitive abilities in older adults.
This success was “achieved with daily exposure to four odorants that represented the resinous, flowery, fruity, and aromatic odor groups. There are further improvements in olfactory ability with increased duration of exposure, increased concentration of the odorants, and an increased number of odorants,” such as those present in essential oil blends like the following:
1. Anti-Inflammatory™
Brain inflammation, or neuroinflammation, may contribute to the development and progression of various forms of dementia. Calming inflammation in the brain may help prevent cognitive decline.
Plant compounds—like polyphenols and flavonoids—have been shown to reduce inflammation in the brain (Study). Distilling these concentrated plant essences into essential oils makes them more accessible to the brain, helping to calm inflammation.
Research shows that phenolic compounds—found in spices such as cinnamon, ginger, clove, thyme, oregano, rosemary, parsley, and basil—modulate inflammatory pathways, noting that “Spices are known to possess a variety of antioxidant effects and other biological activities. Phenolic compounds in these plant materials are closely associated with their antioxidant activity, mainly due to their redox properties and capacity to block the production of reactive oxygen species… Many spice-derived compounds are potent antioxidants that may help protect the human body against oxidative stress and inflammatory processes.”
Anti-Inflammatory™ blend contains phenolic compounds like Ginger, which is known to help prevent chronic joint inflammation, bring heat, and stimulate circulation, which helps calm inflammation and pain. Similarly, Frankincense™ oil has long been heralded for its anti-inflammatory, immune-boosting, and pain-relieving properties. Research shows frankincense and its anti-inflammatory constituent alpha-pinene significantly inhibit inflammation and enhance immune-supporting properties.
Apply Anti-Inflammatory™ to areas where inflammation is experienced or suspected, including the base of the skull or the bottom of the feet. Anti-Inflammatory™ is designed to reduce inflammation, rebalance the brain, and encourage the regeneration of damaged or stressed cells and tissues that have been chronically or acutely inflamed.he bowl and gently inhale the steam) or used with a hot wet towel compress to the throat area.
2. Parasympathetic®
Acetylcholine is a chemical messenger released by the vagus nerve that plays a crucial role in memory, learning, and other cognitive functions.
A decline in the production and function of Acetylcholine – particularly in the brain regions involved in cognitive processes – is believed to contribute to cognitive decline. People with neurodegenerative diseases make less acetylcholine, and the diseases often break it down at a faster rate, leading to acetylcholine deficits.
Acetylcholine activates and inhibits communication between different brain regions to store information properly. For example, it tells the hippocampus to store and consolidate memories.
Acetylcholine can excite and inhibit brain function by speeding up or slowing down nerve signals. In the central nervous system (i.e., the brain), acetylcholine is mainly excitatory, allowing your neurons to communicate so you can think clearly, learn new information, and form new memories.
Cognitive enhancing drugs, known as nootropics, actually work by stimulating the acetylcholine receptors found within the brain. Increased acetylcholine levels in your brain often correlate with improved cognitive function, including enhanced executive function (planning and decision-making), memory, creativity, and motivation. Without optimal acetylcholine levels in your brain, your focus becomes sluggish, causing brain fog and mental fatigue. Your vagus nerve releases acetylcholine, and stimulating your vagus nerve helps to promote the release of acetylcholine. You can naturally stimulate your vagus nerve by topically applying our stimulatory Parasympathetic® behind the earlobe on the mastoid bone where the vagus nerve is closest to the surface of your body.
When applied to the vagus nerve, behind the ear lobe on the mastoid bone, the Parasympathetic® blend stimulates the vagus nerve and triggers the release of the anti-inflammatory neurotransmitter acetylcholine. Research has found that essential oils are some of the most effective tools to regenerate and heal these acetylcholine-producing systems.
The primary ingredient in Parasympathetic®, Clove essential oil, is high in flavonoids, plant compounds that have been shown to reduce inflammation in the brain. Cloves are loaded with polyphenols. Research on clove essential oil has demonstrated robust anti-inflammatory effects that significantly inhibited the increased production of several pro-inflammatory biomarkers.
Stimulating your vagus nerve also triggers the release of the neurotransmitter norepinephrine into an area of the brain called the amygdala, which strengthens memory storage and improves your ability to process and retain information.
A recent study also found that Sage was the most effective essential oil at blocking the breakdown of acetylcholine. The “inhibitory activity produced by sage was significantly higher from the rest of the essential oils. Lemon myrtle and rosemary exhibited moderate benefits in blocking the breakdown of acetylcholine.
Sage’s benefit is highly attributed to its constituent, Rosmarinic acid, which has been shown to have potent neuroprotective therapeutic effects against Alzheimer’s disease. Essential oils from the mint family have also been demonstrated to improve cognitive performance in Alzheimer’s disease patients.
3. Circulation™
Brain circulation, or brain blood flow, is the movement of blood through the arteries and veins that supply the brain with energy.
Your brain needs a healthy supply of oxygen and nutrient-rich blood to function correctly. Although your brain accounts for less than 2% of your body weight, it consumes approximately 20% of your oxygen and 50% of available glucose.
This high oxygen demand makes the brain susceptible to damage when oxygen levels are low. The brain is the most vertical tissue in the body, with the smallest blood vessels furthest from the heart. Due to its vertical position, it consistently deals with the force of gravity, making it a problematic organ for delivering blood.
Your brain contains the densest network of blood vessels carrying oxygen in your body. Any hindrances in oxygen-rich blood flow can contribute to brain cell death and degeneration.
For example, decreased blood flow or reduced circulation to the brain—which in turn reduces the healthy supply of oxygen and nutrients the brain needs to keep neurons metabolically active and functioning correctly—may contribute to dementia symptoms, including brain fog, fatigue, memory problems, or poor cognitive function.
Anything you can do to support the health of your circulatory system will help enhance blood flow through your arteries, which carry oxygen, glucose, and other nutrients to the brain. Similarly, your veins carry metabolic waste out of the brain, and supporting the health of your circulatory system helps ensure that waste is eliminated correctly.
Oxygen helps expedite your body’s healing process. So, increasing your brain’s available oxygen can improve your mental clarity while reducing your risk of dementia. It’s not surprising that pharmaceutical drugs designed to improve brain function often enhance blood flow to the brain and improve the brain’s ability to utilize oxygen.
Brain circulation enables energy production in the brain and plays a vital role in preserving cognitive functions. Research supports this and finds that increasing brain circulation in some brain regions may improve cognitive deficits and relieve brain fog.
In a research study designed to assess the factors related to dementia and cognitive decline, researchers found that in 1,716 subjects without dementia, an increased probability of cognitive decline was related to decreased brain blood flow.
Natural compounds, like essential oils, have been shown to increase circulation and blood flow to the brain.
Essential oils may help improve circulation by relaxing the smooth muscles that line the blood vessels and improving their health. This allows more blood to circulate through them, improving circulation and increasing brain oxygen levels.
Plant compounds, including the highly concentrated essence of plants found in essential oils, have been shown to help the veins contract, stimulating blood flow and enhancing “brain microcirculation,” which is blood flow through the body’s smallest vessels. They may help reduce some of the buildup of triglycerides that can form and restrict blood flow.
Terpenes – the highly aromatic chemical component of essential oils that are believed to provide the first line of defense in the plant’s immune system – increase cerebral blood flow, thus indirectly enhancing oxygen delivery to the brain. Research on the “Functional imaging of effects of fragrances on the human brain after prolonged inhalation” demonstrated a direct increase in blood flow to the brain following the inhalation of essential oils.
“The effect of the fragrance 1,8-cineol, which was described in literature as ‘stimulating’, on regional and global cerebral blood flow in the human brain after prolonged inhalation was investigated” (Full Study)
Sesquiterpenes are a subclass of the large terpene chemical family that are abundant in essential oils derived from plants, including black pepper, cedarwood, frankincense, ginger, myrrh, patchouli, sandalwood, spikenard, and vetiver. Essential oils high in sesquiterpenes have been shown to help oxygenate your brain. Sesquiterpenes are carbon chains that do not contain oxygen molecules but seem to pull oxygen in. This may be one reason why essential oils high in sesquiterpines increase oxygen levels in the brain when inhaled or topically applied to the skin around the head.
Topically apply Circulation™ blend along the sides of the neck, the back of the neck, and the temples to support healthy circulation and blood flow to the body and the brain.
4. Blood Sugar Balance with Hypothalamus™
Your brain needs glucose or blood sugar energy to support your balanced brain chemistry and prevent neurodegeneration.
Brain activities such as thinking, memory, and learning are closely linked to glucose levels and how efficiently your brain uses this fuel source.
Your brain accounts for 2% of your body weight, but it consumes as much as one-third of all the sugar energy in the body. This is because your brain is rich in nerve cells, or neurons, which have an incredibly high energy demand and require continuous glucose delivery from blood.
If there isn’t enough glucose in the brain, the brain’s chemical messengers, known as neurotransmitters, are not produced, and communication between neurons breaks down. Similarly, when neurons in a particular brain region lose the ability to use glucose efficiently as fuel, your brain cells begin to atrophy, contributing to neurodegeneration.
For example, blood sugar dysregulation—including insulin resistance or diabetes—may damage blood vessels in the brain, promoting inflammation and potentially increasing the buildup of amyloid plaques. These can impair brain function and increase the risk of dementia. Any difficulty burning glucose for fuel can lead to sluggish brain activity, brain shrinkage, and even death of brain cells.
There is growing research regarding the application of essential oils to help manage blood sugar levels to a healthy range. For example, research has found olfactory receptors in pancreatic cells that release insulin and modulate glucose metabolism.
In other words, our sense of smell, triggered through essential oils, can play a decisive role in blood sugar balance. Moreover, a medical researcher at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center is testing a blood sugar management tool through the olfactory channel. The nasal spray, called intranasal insulin (INI), enters the brain through the olfactory channel. It binds to receptors in the brain, including the hypothalamus, to deliver accessible insulin to the brain, allowing glucose into the cells to improve signaling within these memory networks and enhance cognitive function.
“In a pilot study, Novak and her colleagues found that a single dose of INI positively affected memory, verbal learning, and spatial orientation.”
As the brain plays a key role in blood sugar regulation and the sense of smell is the easiest channel into it, essential oils are quickly gaining momentum as an ideal remedy for balancing blood sugar within the brain.
Supporting the regions of the brain and the organs associated with blood sugar regulation, in addition to healthy diet and lifestyle choices, helps to keep blood sugar levels in the brain balanced.
Neurons in the hypothalamus play an essential role in blood sugar regulation, so returning the hypothalamus to balance may help restore normal glucose regulation.
Research suggests that blood sugar regulation depends on a partnership between the pancreatic islet cells, which produce insulin, and neuronal circuits in the hypothalamus and other brain areas intimately involved in maintaining and regulating normal blood glucose levels.
The research specifically tested how neurons in the hypothalamus impact glucose metabolism and found that the brain-centered system for regulating blood sugar levels, known as the glucoregulatory system, plays a key role in glucose homeostasis and may act independently from the insulin’s action.
To help return the hypothalamus to the balance for optimal blood sugar support, apply one drop of Hypothalamus™ to the forehead right above the third eye (right above the nose between eyebrows and hairline) up to 6 times daily.
5. Drainage with Lymph™
Poor lymphatic drainage, particularly in the neck, may hinder the removal of waste products from the brain. This could lead to the accumulation of amyloid-beta and other neurotoxic proteins, contributing to cognitive decline.
For example, some research suggests that environmental toxins gain access to the brain via nasal mucosa—the layer of mucus lining the inside of the nose—potentially triggering cognitive decline and disrupting smell.
Your brain drains toxins from the brain down the neck. Your cerebrospinal fluid moves quickly across the brain tissue in a sweeping motion around the neurons and then exits along the veins in the neck. This movement is controlled by the lymphatic system in combination with glial cells known as astrocytes or the glymphatic or glial-dependent lymphatic systems.
Topically applied essential oils can play a huge role in helping the brain detoxify. They can be especially powerful in supporting the brain, as it is primarily comprised of fat. Essential oils are fat-soluble, so they easily penetrate and assimilate into the system.
Specific oils for supporting brain detoxification include Lymph™. The lymphatic system needs to function optimally to remove toxins from the brain. If you think of the body as a hydraulic system where congested tissue downstream prevents optimal flow upstream, congested lymphatic vessels in the neck will impede the drainage of toxins from the brain. To enhance lymphatic flow and drainage, generously apply Lymph™ around the sides of the neck.
Featured Oils:
- Anti-Inflammatory available here
- Frankincense™ available here
- Parasympathetic® available here
- Immune Support™ available here
- Frankincense™ available here
- Hypothalamus™ available here
- Lymph™ available here
References:
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28504111/
- https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7556469/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23768186/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6334595/
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3459459/#ref20
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16876572/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28155036/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28491108/
- https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15929050/
- https://files.achs.edu/mediabank/IFEAT/Functional-imaging-of-effects-of-fragrances-on-the-human-brain-after-prolonged-inhalation.pdf
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1934578X1501001033
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29367680
- https://neuro.hms.harvard.edu/harvard-mahoney-neuroscience-institute/brain-newsletter/and-brain-series/sugar-and-brain
- https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3983910/
