Research suggests that the scent of a romantic partner can help lower stress levels
| Updated: Jan 10, 2018, 12:27 IST
How many of you'll tend to smell a shirt or a dress of a loved one? By loved one, we mean specifically a partner. Well, if you're doing it already trust us today when we say it's not 'creepy' but actually is helping you'll in ways you'd never imagine. A recent study revealed that the scent of a loved one could help reduce stress levels! And hence, smelling a garment belonging to either your wife or boyfriend will actually help reduce your stress.
As part of the research the scent of a stranger proved to raise stress-hormone levels in the study—an unexpected finding, say the authors. Previous research has shown that the presence of a romantic partner can lower stress levels, but scientists at the University of British Columbia in Canada wanted to see if their scent alone could do the same thing. They recruited 96 heterosexual couples and asked the men to wear a clean T-shirt for 24 hours, without using deodorant or scented body products, smoking or eating certain foods that could affect their natural scent. And the women in the study were then asked to smell a T-shirt that had either been unworn, worn by their partner or worn by another man they did not know.
Women who had smelled their partner’s shirt reported feeling less stress both before and after their interview and exam, compared to those who had smelled an unworn shirt or a stranger’s shirt. Those who were able to recognize their partner’s scent also had lower cortisol levels than other women in the study, suggesting that the stress-relieving benefits may be greatest when a person is aware of what they’re sniffing. Women who smelled a stranger’s scent, on the other hand, had higher levels of cortisol before and after their stress tests. “Humans have developed to fear strangers, especially strange males. It’s possible that a strange male scent triggers the fight or flight response, even without us realizing it,” said one of the researchers.
As part of the research the scent of a stranger proved to raise stress-hormone levels in the study—an unexpected finding, say the authors. Previous research has shown that the presence of a romantic partner can lower stress levels, but scientists at the University of British Columbia in Canada wanted to see if their scent alone could do the same thing. They recruited 96 heterosexual couples and asked the men to wear a clean T-shirt for 24 hours, without using deodorant or scented body products, smoking or eating certain foods that could affect their natural scent. And the women in the study were then asked to smell a T-shirt that had either been unworn, worn by their partner or worn by another man they did not know.
Women who had smelled their partner’s shirt reported feeling less stress both before and after their interview and exam, compared to those who had smelled an unworn shirt or a stranger’s shirt. Those who were able to recognize their partner’s scent also had lower cortisol levels than other women in the study, suggesting that the stress-relieving benefits may be greatest when a person is aware of what they’re sniffing. Women who smelled a stranger’s scent, on the other hand, had higher levels of cortisol before and after their stress tests. “Humans have developed to fear strangers, especially strange males. It’s possible that a strange male scent triggers the fight or flight response, even without us realizing it,” said one of the researchers.