Nature and human well-being: The olfactory pathway.
Gregory N Bratman, John D Spengler, Nancy Long Sieber, Anne M Riederer, Hector Olvera-Alvarez, Asifa Majid, Connor Lashus, Lucia F Jacobs, Gretchen C Daily, Cecilia Bembibre, John D Miller, Anna Oleszkiewicz, Chia-Pin Yu, Thomas Hummel, Valentina Parma, Peter H Kahn, Jieling Xiao, Richard L Doty, Jonathan Williams
Journal: Science advances
2024;10(20):eadn3028
PMID: 38748806
Abstract
The world is undergoing massive atmospheric and ecological change, driving unprecedented challenges to human well-being. Olfaction is a key sensory system through which these impacts occur. The sense of smell influences quality of and satisfaction with life, emotion, emotion regulation, cognitive function, social interactions, dietary choices, stress, and depressive symptoms. Exposures via the olfactory pathway can also lead to (anti-)inflammatory outcomes. Increased understanding is needed regarding the ways in which odorants generated by nature (i.e., natural olfactory environments) affect human well-being. With perspectives from a range of health, social, and natural sciences, we provide an overview of this unique sensory system, four consensus statements regarding olfaction and the environment, and a conceptual framework that integrates the olfactory pathway into an understanding of the effects of natural environments on human well-being. We then discuss how this framework can contribute to better accounting of the impacts of policy and land-use decision-making on natural olfactory environments and, in turn, on planetary health.
Address:
School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.; Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.; Institute for Sustainable Heritage, University College London, London, UK.; Natural Capital Project, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Woods Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.; Smell and Taste Center, Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.; Interdisciplinary Center Smell and Taste, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.; Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA.; School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.; Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.; School of Environmental and Forest Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.; Wildwood/Mahonia, Portland, OR 97239, USA.; Interdisciplinary Center Smell and Taste, Department of Otorhinolaryngology, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.; Institute of Psychology, University of Wroclaw, Wrocław, Poland.; School of Nursing, Oregon Health and Science University, Portland, OR 97239, USA.; Monell Chemical Senses Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.; Department of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.; T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Harvard University, Boston, MA 02115, USA.; Air Chemistry Department, Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, 55128 Mainz, Germany.; Climate and Atmosphere Research Center, The Cyprus Institute, Nicosia, Cyprus.; College of Architecture, Birmingham City University, Birmingham, UK.; School of Forestry and Resource Conservation, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.; The Experimental Forest, College of Bio-Resources and Agriculture, National Taiwan University, Taiwan.
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