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According to aromatherapists and articles such as this, good smells boost our immune system, and conversely, bad smells deteriorate our bodies.

Is there a plausible mechanism to explain why this would happen?

Has this claim ever been validated by scientific evidence?

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  • Is this a "public claim made in the media or elsewhere"? Or, is it just a factoid or hypothesis which you invented?
    – ChrisW
    May 16, 2011 at 5:45
  • Actually, the idea came after reading this
    – Thursagen
    May 16, 2011 at 5:49
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    You may be suggesting the wrong cause: perhaps accountants live longer because they're relatively rich and educated, not because they have nicer things to smell.
    – ChrisW
    May 16, 2011 at 5:54
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    The second part of your question can be separated into its own: does olfactory (sense of smell) have impact on health? That way it will not be tied to the correlation caused by the occupation (cleaners).
    – user2547
    May 16, 2011 at 7:06
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    @third idiot I'm going to edit this to focus on the question "can smells affect the immune system" since it doesn't seem to be doing very welll as written. Can always roll it back if you feel it's necessary
    – Monkey Tuesday
    May 18, 2011 at 6:35

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