What You Smell As You Sleep Influences Your Dreams

[Guest guest]

What You Smell As You Sleep Influences Your Dreams

 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/09/080921162021.htm

 

Heck y'all .. we knew this already. ;-) Butch

 

ScienceDaily (Sep. 22, 2008) — What you smell as you sleep has the

power to influence your dreams, says new research presented at the

2008 American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery

Foundation (AAO-HNSF) Annual Meeting & OTO EXPO in Chicago, IL.

 

German researchers used specific volatile odorants with a negative or

a positive smell ( " rotten eggs " versus " roses " ) to simulate subjects

during sleep. They then recorded the subjects' impressions when they

were awakened. When using the unpleasant odorant, the emotional

coloration of the dream was predominantly negative, while under

stimulation with the pleasant stimulus, nearly all dreams had a

positive coloration.

 

Researchers note that only recently information on olfactory function

during sleep has become available, and that this is the first valid

study that documents the impact of olfactory function on dreams. This

study may also open a potential field of therapeutic intervention

with nocturnal olfactory stimulation.

 

*Title: The Impact of Olfactory Stimulation on Dreams. Presenters:

Boris A. Stuck, MD; Desislava Atanasova; Kathrin Frauke Grupp;

Michael Schredl, PhD. September 21, 2008

Adapted from materials provided by American Academy of

Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery, via EurekAlert!, a service

of AAAS.

Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of

the following formats:

American Academy of Otolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery (2008,

September 22). What You Smell As You Sleep Influences Your Dreams.

ScienceDaily. Retrieved September 25, 2008, from

http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2008/09/080921162021.htm