TresSugar

Are People With Sensitive Noses More Empathetic?

TresSugar — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 11:00:00 -0700

Are you cursed and blessed with a good sense of smell? Cursed because you smell every ungodly stink no matter how far away, and blessed because lovely smells affect you deeply?

Psychology professor Denise Chen at Rice University thinks you may also be more empathetic than your olfaction-challenged neighbor.

Sense of smell and emotions come from the same area of the brain (the limbic system), and Chen set out to test their connection. In an experiment with 22 pairs of dorm-dwelling women, Chen asked them all to sleep in identical t-shirts. The next morning, she presented each person with three t-shirts: one worn by her roommate, and two others worn by other people in the dorm. The women who were able to identify their roommates' t-shirts by smell alone also scored high in emotional tests.

"The olfactory brain overlaps with the emotional brain," said Chen, "and is believed to have contributed to its evolution." Do you have a good sense of smell or wish you did?

Women More Sensitive to Stinkiness Than Men

DearSugar — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 07:30:19 -0700

Well, I could have told you that based on purely anecdotal evidence (i.e., growing up with a teenage brother), but now I've got the scientists to back me up. According to a new study out of the Monell Chemical Senses Center in Philadelphia, women are far more adept than men at cutting through fancy colognes to detect a dude's scent.

Apparently, men and women are equally skilled at detecting stink, but women aren't as easily fooled by cover-ups:

Underarm odors alone smelled equally strong to women and men. But when fragrances were introduced, only two of 32 fragrances blocked underarm odor when women were doing the sniffing, compared with 19 fragrances that blocked the odor for men.

The scientists surmise that women are better at detecting "biologically relevant" information - perhaps whether he's in the mood or sweating out pheromones. So does that mean BO can help you pick a sig-o?

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Do You Believe in Pheromones?

DearSugar — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 11:00:46 -0800

Some guys seem to exude sex, a trait often attributed to pheromones, the chemical signals that people supposedly emit when they're in the mood. But turns out, scientists have never been able to find evidence of such pheromones in humans.

In an essay published in the journal Nature, scientists say they haven't pinned down so-called "releaser pheromones" in humans, which would trigger sexual desire. They have, however, found evidence of "primer pheromones" related to physical reactions. Here's more:

Scientists have observed what they think are the effects of human primer pheromones, including studies showing that some compound in the extract from a woman's armpit can cause menstrual cycles of nearby women to sync up. And a recent study found that women can smell a guy's sexual intentions. . . . But without any actual chemicals identified as pheromones, scientists can't test effects on humans, so the jury is out as to whether we communicate via pheromones.

OK, first of all: How cool is it that they may have proven that menstrual-cycle syncing actually happens?! I thought that was just a myth. That makes me wonder if the sexual pheromones thing is also a myth or if maybe it's just not proven yet. What do you think?

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His Sweat Tells a Woman He's "In the Mood"!

DearSugar — Tue, 13 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0800

I've heard that some women love how their man smells after he works out, and it turns out that musty aroma might be telling you more than you think. According to a recent study, the scent of a man's perspiration can subconsciously tell a woman that he's "in the mood."

Researchers in this study asked 20 heterosexual men to stop wearing antiperspirant and other scented products for a few days. Then (this is a funny image!) they asked the men to put pads in their armpits while they watched pornographic movies so the scientists could gather their sweat. Afterward, they were asked to place pads under their armpits so sweat could be collected when they weren't aroused. Nineteen brave women's brains were scanned as they sniffed these pads and lo and behold, their brains reacted to the sweat produced when the guys were turned on. I guess we have a little animal instinct in us after all!

What do you think? Are you turned on by your man's sweat when he's aroused?

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Cuddling With Clothes?

DearSugar — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:00:00 -0800

One of my friends recently told me that when her husband is out of town, she sleeps with one of his old t-shirts so she can snuggle with something that smells like him. It keeps the loneliness at bay and although it sounds a little childish, she's not alone. Researchers reported that as many as three-quarters of women admit they cuddle with clothing worn by their significant other when he or she is away. And get this - two-thirds of men do the same thing!

Can you relate? Do you embrace clothes worn by your lover when you're apart?

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Follow Your Nose to Love

DearSugar — Mon, 14 Jan 2008 11:00:00 -0800

Scents are all the rage this season, and I'm not just talking perfume. This month's Psychology Today has a fascinating article about how natural scents determine our attraction to others. It's widely known that pheromones, a natural scent released by humans directly related to sexuality, influence lust and that butterflies-in-the-stomach feeling. But this article takes it a step further, saying that the smells we seek out are actually determined by our genes.

Unfortunately, for those of us on the Pill or other hormonal birth control, things seem to go a little haywire. According to the article:

The pill subverts a woman's ability to sniff out a compatible mate by causing her to misinterpret the scent messages she receives. . . . and making her seem less appealing to men.

Yikes, this means we could be choosing the wrong men and losing out on great guys because we're on the Pill! As if a decreased sex drive wasn't enough of a bummer!

I don't scoff at science and medicine, but it's hard to believe our genes and smells could have that much to do with our relationships. Then again, there's nothing like your favorite man's smell first thing in the morning. What do you think? Has scent had an effect on your attraction or desires?

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Do You Think Everyone Smells the Same Thing In the Same Way?

DearSugar — Wed, 19 Sep 2007 13:00:00 -0700

We all have favorite smells and smells that we would like to eliminate, but I have a question for you -- do you think everyone smells things in the same way?

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Take the quiz

Do Tell: What Smell Would you Eliminate?

DearSugar — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 07:00:00 -0700

We all have our very own favorite smells -- which is why we also have smells we can't stand! Personally, I am sensitive to cooked broccoli, really strong cologne, and old, rotted flowers -- did I mention I have a sensitive nose?! So ladies, what smells do you have aversions to that you would like to eliminate forever?

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Do Tell: What's Your Favorite Smell?

DearSugar — Fri, 27 Jul 2007 07:00:00 -0700

When I asked you all which of your 5 senses you would sacrifice for a year, giving up your sense of smell was the second runner up with taste taking the lead by a mere 5%. I happen to think the sense of smell is one of the most powerful senses. A smell can instantaneously bring back memories, you can recognize someone by his or her smell, and life wouldn't be all that worth living if we didn't take a little time to stop and smell the roses every now and again!

I love the smell of a wood burning fire, or a hot summer day, but ladies, do tell, what's your favorite smell?

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Pillow Talk: Remembering Scent

DearSugar — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 13:30:00 -0700

Scent is one of the strongest senses tied to memory, and recent studies indicate scent can be used to enhance learning and memory. While it won't trigger memory any more often than sight or sound will, ladies, scent does trigger memories that are more emotional.

Click here to read more

Your sense of smell is strongest around the time of ovulation; it's also stronger than a man's sense of smell. Over the course of your cycle, it might be interesting to see if there's a noticeable difference in how strongly your partner smells to you. In last week's poll, 31% of you said you'd give up your sense of smell for a year if you had to. But people who lose their sense of smell, through accident or illness, also describe a decrease in emotional richness and, eventually, less emotional intensity toward life.

Next time you're snuggled up against your partner, spend a little more time noticing and appreciating the peculiar power that scent holds over us.

Click here for a study that reveals how women (and mice) choose mates with immune-system genes different from their own. How do we know the genes are different? That's right: The way a man smells.
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