This Is Your Brain on Nostalgia

Why does hearing an old song or smelling a familiar scent instantly transport you back in time?

Imagine walking into your childhood home and catching a whiff of a favorite meal cooking. In that instant, a flood of memories and emotions might wash over you – this is nostalgia. It’s often a bittersweet feeling: happy recollections tinged with a longing for the past. Centuries ago, nostalgia was literally considered an illness – the term comes from Greek nostos (return home) and algos (pain), coined by a 17th-century physician to describe the ache of Swiss soldiers longing for home.

Today, we know nostalgia is a common and mostly positive experience: essentially, it’s “the warm glow of the past, conjured up into the present moment”. Far from a symptom of maladjustment, nostalgia is now seen as a healthy way our minds reconnect us with meaningful memories.

At nostmoments.io we're making it easier for you and the family, friends, and co-workers you share your memories with to tap back into the positive aspects of nostalgia.