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If you work in memory care, you know that mealtimes can be one of the hardest parts of the day. Many residents living with dementia eat less than they used to, and staff spend a lot of time and care encouraging them to finish a meal.
Communities are always looking for small changes to the dining environment that help, and scent is one of them. This article covers why appetite changes in memory care, how some communities use scent around mealtimes, and what the evidence does and does not show.
Why appetite changes in memory care
Eating less can have many causes, and they often overlap:
- Changes in mood
- Difficulty recognizing food or remembering to eat
- Less physical activity
- Not drinking enough
- A weaker sense of taste and smell
- Difficulty chewing, swallowing or eating independently
Any real concern about a resident's appetite, weight or nutrition belongs with their care team, dietitian and physician. Scent is not a treatment for any of these. What it can do is make the dining environment more inviting.
Why smell matters at mealtime
Much of what we think of as taste is actually smell, and the smell of food cooking is one of the oldest signals there is that a meal is coming. For residents who may not track the time of day, familiar food smells can be a helpful cue that it is time to eat.
That is why some communities pay attention to how their dining areas smell before and during meals, and why food smells from a kitchen can be an asset rather than something to hide.
What has been tried
One program that is often cited came from Sharp Coronado Hospital in California, where clinical nutrition manager Barbara Bauer had staff apply a citrus essential oil blend to patients' bed coverings at two meals a day. As reported in local news coverage in 2012, most of the 50 patients tracked stopped losing weight.
What that program does not establish: it was a hospital program reported in the press, not a published controlled study, and it involved hospital patients rather than a memory care community. It is an interesting example, not proof that a scent increases appetite, and Aroma Impressions does not claim that it does.
Scents communities choose around mealtimes
Communities that add scent near dining areas tend to choose familiar, food-like scents that most people find appealing:
- Citrus, such as orange and lemon
- Warm spices, such as cinnamon, cardamom and ginger
- Vanilla
- Fresh bread and baked goods
- Fresh mint, such as spearmint or peppermint
- Bergamot
The scent should complement the food rather than compete with it, so it is usually kept light and timed around meals rather than running at full strength all day.
How mealtime scenting works
Cold-air diffusers turn fragrance oil into a fine, dry mist without heat or water and spread it evenly through a room. Units run on a timer, so scent can be scheduled around breakfast, lunch and dinner without staff having to remember to turn anything on. Intensity can be adjusted room by room, and the community decides which spaces are scented.
Our library includes more than 200 commercial fragrances, and we send free samples so staff can try them in their own dining room first. Our fragrance oils are IFRA-compliant and California Prop 65-compliant.
What scent does and does not do
Scent can make a dining room feel warmer and more inviting, and familiar food smells can be a helpful cue that a meal is coming. It is not a treatment for appetite loss, weight loss or dementia, and it does not replace the care, attention and nutrition support residents receive from their care team.
Related reading: Senior living and memory care scenting · Scenting memory care communities · 14 scents memory care communities use