Nocturnal Olfactory Stimulation Influences Dreams

Carl Gustav Jung said "The dream is the small hidden door in the deepest and most intimate sanctum of the soul, which opens to that primeval cosmic night that was soul long before there was conscious ego and will be soul far beyond what a conscious ego could ever reach."

Dreams fascinate me. I have found that burning certain incense can influence the intensity and general theme of my dreams, so I was quite interested to read about the research below.

German researchers have used specific volatile odorants with a negative or a positive smell ("rotten eggs" versus "roses") to stimulate subjects during sleep ... this is the first valid study that documents the impact of olfactory function on dreams ...

The outcome, not too surprisingly, was that people tend to have more pleasant dreams when smelling the more pleasant odor.

Read the full story here: Science Daily

I look forward to diffusing a variety of oils in my sleeping quarters and see what I dream up! I personally, at times, experience very vivid dreams with all my senses involved, including scent. It'll be neat to observe whether or not the scents I diffuse will affect the scents I perceive in my dreams.