Does happiness have a smell and is it contagious?

Conclusion The findings from this small experimental study suggest that smelling sweat produced during different emotional states can influence people’s feelings. However, the study has many limitations and cannot prove this theory. It only looked at sweat samples from nine men, and all of the testers were female students. The researchers say this was deliberate because men sweat more and women have a better sense of smell and greater sensitivity to emotional signals. Nevertheless, this means that we do not know if similar results would be found for men smelling female sweat or within the same sex. We also don’t know whether results would be similar if the women had been with the men at the time and smelling the sweat directly from their body, rather than in a vial that has been placed under their nose. The study aimed to assess the feelings induced by the smell through facial muscle changes, reported mood and attention. It is not possible from such a study to be able to say with any certainty that any changes were due to the smell. Other confounding factors could have caused the effects. In real-life situations, where people are together and more than just smell is involved, emotional responses are due to a combination of thoughts, feelings, environmental factors and all of the senses.     While interesting, this study does not prove that body odours can transmit happy or sad feelings to others. Analysis by Bazian. Edited by NHS Choices. Follow Behind the Headli...
Source: NHS News Feed - Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Lifestyle/exercise Mental health Source Type: news