<img title="T shirt destress" src="https://images.mid-day.com/images/2018/jan/tshirt-main.jpg" alt="T shirt destress" /> Representational image
Your partner's&nbsp;scent can help lower stress levels, suggests a study. The findings showed that women feel calmer when they sniff their male partner's scent.
"Many people wear their partner's shirt or sleep on their partner's side of the bed when their partner is away, but may not realise why they engage in this behaviour," said lead author Marlise Hofer, graduate student at the University of British Columbia, in Canada.
"Our findings suggest that a partner's scent alone, even without their physical presence, can be a powerful tool to help reduce stress," Hofer added. Conversely, being exposed to a stranger's scent had the opposite effect and raised levels of the stress hormone, cortisol, possibly because of evolutionary factors.
"From a young age, humans fear strangers, especially strange males, so it is possible that a strange male scent triggers the 'fight or flight' response that leads to elevated cortisol. This could happen without us being fully aware of it," she said. The study could have practical implications to help people cope with stressful situations when they're away from loved ones, the researchers said.
For the study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the team recruited 96 heterosexual couples. Men were given a clean T-shirt to wear for 24 hours, and were told to refrain from using deodorant, that could affect their scent. The women were then randomly assigned to smell a T-shirt that was either unworn, or had been worn by their partner or a stranger. Women who smelled their partner's shirt felt less stressed, those who both smelled their partner's shirt and also correctly identified the scent had lower levels of cortisol, while women who smelled a stranger's scent showed higher cortisol levels.
<a href="http://www.mid-day.com/mumbai">Catch up on all the latest Mumbai news, current affairs from Mumbai, local news, crime news and breaking headlines here</a>
Download the new mid-day <a title="mid-day android app " href="https://goo.gl/8Xlcvr" target="_blank">Android</a> and <a title="mid-day iOS app" href="https://goo.gl/KQziH4" target="_blank">iOS</a> apps to get updates on all the latest and trending stories on the go
The content/reporting displayed on our website www.mid-day.com is provided "AS-IS," "AS AVAILABLE, by us from third party, agencies, sources, without any verification from our side. It may contain error, bugs and other limitations. The reader's can rely on the content at their own will. Mid-day accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability, trustworthiness, reliability, data, text, images, video, messages, or any other material whatsoever or for any claims/loss/action that the reader may suffer as a result of relying on the content on our site. Mid-day management/mid-day.com reserves the sole right to alter, delete or remove (without notice) the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever.

Are you are feeling physically and emotionally drained out? Try taking a whiff of your romantic partner's shirt 

Feeling stressed? All you need is your partner's shirt to make you feel better

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast

Home / Lifestyle / Health & Fitness / Article / Feeling stressed? All you need is your partner's shirt to make you feel better

Feeling stressed? All you need is your partner's shirt to make you feel better

Trending Stories

Latest Photos

Latest Videos

Latest Web Stories

Mid-Day Fast