Can you smell in your sleep?

Question

My wife claims she wakes up when i'm putting on my deoderant in the bathroom two rooms away from our bedroom. She belives she can smell in her sleep.

Is this possible??

Answer 1

Yes.. how do you think people wake up during house fires without smoke alarms?

Answer 2

Yes. The scientific explanation lies on the basis of all or none principle of brain. It states that either all the neurons of the brain work or none of them works. Brain stops working only under two conditions i.e. coma and death. During sleep though our senses become weak but they don't stop working. As a matter of fact olfaction (sense of smell) is reduced the maximum making it the weakest amongst all senses but then too it doesn't stop working. So your wife isn't lyeing. And by the way try changing the deodorant too. :-)

Answer 3

Technically yes, because while your body prevents itself from moving or acting out your dreams in your sleep, it does not really "deactivate" your nose too.

OTOH, your brain may not really process the info from your nose very well as it is preoccupied with what is going on in your subconcious as well. Thankfully it does seem to pay attention to the important olfactory messages, such as "Smoke! - there a fire!"

I imagine its kind of similar to your hearing -- while you do hear everything when you sleep, you only really respond or wake up to certain loud sounds or to sounds you somehow program yourself to listen for such as the baby crying (well, women do anyway).

Your wife may be someone who is good at processing that info while asleep, kind of like how she might hear the baby cry or something else that you would happily sleep through.

Answer 4

I have a "sensitive sniffer" and can smell things before others can. Certain smells do wake me up. Perfumes, food, coffee, etc. I had a roommate spray perfume and it would wake me up. It stunk. If it is a simple deodorant like a roll on, that wouldn't wake me a couple rooms away. Sounds would since I am a light sleeper. It sounds like your wife has a sensitive sniffer and or is very in tune to you.

Answer 5

The answer is simply yes.

You can smell body aroma but more importantly many lives have been saved aowing to the fact that sleepers have been worken up by the smell of smoke.

Your wife has got it right.

Answer 6

I have had dreams that I was burning toast and could smell it, I woke up and there was a small fire in the kitchen and it was the smell that woke me ...Twice this has happened! So yes, I say it is possible to smell in our sleep.

Answer 7

I do believe SO!

Think - smelling smoke in time of fire. Theres no reason your nose shouldnt work just because you are sleeping...it probably just takes a bad smell, warning smell, or really strong smell to wake you up enough to realize you are smell - ing!

Answer 8

Woah your wife has got some serious powers! It could be possible, but I'm not sure. You see the thing is I can't smell at all in my sleep because my nose is usually blocked and congested.

Answer 9

I can smell in my sleep. We lived in an apartment complex and I woke up one morning to the smell of smoke and sure enough there was a fire in another unit. So yes you can smell in your sleep.

Answer 10

She can probably hear it and relates the smell to the sound. But to answer your question I beleive you can. I am married and on many occassions had to sleep downstairs from being woken by a particularily nasty smell.