Sniffing body odour is tested as an anxiety therapy

[kevinUsa]

Some of the women were given genuine body odour to sniff, while others - the control group - were given clean air instead.

 

Those who were exposed to the sweat appeared to do better with the therapy.

 

Lead researcher Ms Elisa Vigna, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, said: "Sweat produced while someone was happy had the same effect as someone who had been scared by a movie clip. So there may be something about human chemo-signals in sweat generally which affects the response to treatment.

 

"It may be that simply being exposed to the presence of someone else has this effect, but we need to confirm this. In fact, that is what we are testing now in a follow-up study with a similar design, but where we are also including sweat from individuals watching emotionally neutral documentaries."

 

What is sweat and does it always smell?

Most of the skin's sweat is odourless. But sweat glands in the armpit and groin produce certain compounds that cause body odour.

 

Bacteria on the skin's surface and on nearby hair follicles break down these compounds, producing others which are responsible for the smell.

 

Duncan Boak from the charity Fifth Sense, which aims to raise awareness about smell and taste disorders, said: "We know there's a strong link between our sense of smell and our emotional wellbeing.

 

"Losing the ability to smell other people, such as your partner and children can cause depression and feelings of isolation.

 

"Whilst this is a preliminary study and further work is of course needed, it's very encouraging to see further research around the importance of our sense of smell to good mental health.