Maybe the periodic olfactory stimulus is useful to the brain in non-olfactory ways? The study says: > previous studies have observed [...] there was a decline

Maybe the periodic olfactory stimulus is useful to the brain in non-olfactory ways? The study says: > previous studies have observed [...] there was a decline in working memory performance for [...] olfactory memory task caused by oral breathing in healthy adults referring to "Respiration Modulates Olfactory Memory Consolidation in Humans" https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6596216/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6596216/ Anecdotally, I find that listening to repetitive music can be surprisingly helpful when programming. I can imagine repetitive stimuli of other forms having a similar effect.