The smell of wet leaves, the first cool air, an earlier sunset or a familiar song - sometimes just a few seconds are enough to bring us back to a memory from years ago. And if in autumn we feel a stronger desire to rewatch a favorite old series, listen to music from the past or return to familiar places, this is probably no coincidence.
Psychologists associate increased nostalgia during this period mostly with change. The transition from summer to autumn brings the feeling that one period ends and another begins. The days become shorter, the temperatures drop, the holidays end, and everyday life becomes more structured again.
Such transitions can be perceived by the psyche as a small loss - even when we eagerly await the new season. It is then that familiar experiences become a kind of support that creates a sense of permanence and security.
The smell of autumn can literally take us back
Autumn is also particularly rich in sensory “keys“ to memory. The smell of wood, cold air, damp leaves, a certain perfume or a scented candle can suddenly awaken long-forgotten experiences.
Smells have a particularly strong connection with autobiographical memory. The reason is related to the way the brain processes olfactory information, and the close connection of the olfactory system with structures involved in emotions and memory.
But it is not only scents that have a similar effect. The golden autumn light, the sound of rain, the sound of a school bus, or even a certain song can trigger the same mechanism.
Sometimes we first experience the feeling, and only then do we understand what memory it is connected to.
Why do we watch the same series again?
This may also explain another curious autumn habit - the desire to return to films and series that we have already watched many times.
When we know the characters, the plot, and even the ending, there is no uncertainty. It is this predictability that can be reassuring at a time when changes are occurring around us.
A well-known series or a favorite book create a kind of “safe territory“. We do not need to carefully follow a new plot or prepare for an unexpected turn – the brain already knows what's coming.
Studies on the re-consumption of favorite books, movies, and TV shows show that people don't always return to them out of boredom. Familiar content can help regulate mood, restore a sense of our own identity, and even remind us of a certain period in our lives.
That's why an old series can bring much more than entertainment. Sometimes it takes us back to the person we were when we first watched it.
Nostalgia is not necessarily sadness
For a long time, nostalgia was associated primarily with melancholy, but modern psychological research shows a much more complex picture.
Studies on nostalgia link it to a greater sense of meaning, social connectedness, and positive emotions. It can remind us of important people and experiences in our lives and strengthen the sense of continuity between the past and the present.
This does not mean that every return is pleasant. Memories can also bring sadness - especially when they are connected to people, places or periods that can no longer be returned.
But it is precisely this mixture of joy and sadness that is characteristic of nostalgia. It allows us not only to idealize the past, but to make sense of how the experience continues to be a part of us.
Therefore, if with the first cold evenings you again feel like turning on a TV series that you know almost by heart, taking out an old photo album or listening to music from your school years, there is nothing unusual. Sometimes returning to the familiar is the way the psyche finds stability while the world around us changes.