The scent of a romantic partner could be just what you need to help lower stress levels, a new University of British Columbia study has found.

The study, led by UBC graduate student Marlise Hofer, involved 96 opposite-sex couples.

The men were given a clean T-shirt to wear for 24 hours, and were told to refrain from using deodorant and scented body products, smoking and eating certain foods that could affect their scent. The T-shirts were then frozen to preserve the scent.

Meanwhile, the women were randomly assigned to smell a T-shirt that was either unworn, or had been worn by their partner or a stranger, but they were not told which one they had been given.

Each woman underwent a stress test that involved a mock job interview and a mental math task, and also answered questions about their stress levels and provided saliva samples used to measure their cortisol levels.

The study found that women feel calmer after being exposed to their male partner鈥檚 scent. Conversely, being exposed to a stranger鈥檚 scent had the opposite effect and raised levels of the stress hormone, cortisol.

鈥淢any people wear their partner鈥檚 shirt or sleep on their partner鈥檚 side of the bed when their partner is away, but may not realize why they engage in these behaviours,鈥� Hofer said.

鈥淥ur findings suggest that a partner鈥檚 scent alone, even without their physical presence, can be a powerful tool to help reduce stress.鈥�

Those leading the study, including co-authors Hanne Collins and Ashley Whillans, also say that evolutionary factors could influence why the stranger鈥檚 scent affected cortisol levels.

鈥淔rom a young age, humans fear strangers, especially strange males, so it is possible that a strange male scent triggers the 鈥榝ight or flight鈥� response that leads to elevated cortisol,鈥� Hofer said. 鈥淭his could happen without us being fully aware of it.鈥�

Frances Chen, the study鈥檚 senior author and assistant professor in the UBC department of psychology, said the findings could have practical implications to help people cope with stressful situations when they鈥檙e away from loved ones.

鈥淲ith globalization, people are increasingly traveling for work and moving to new cities,鈥� Chen said. 鈥淥ur research suggests that something as simple as taking an article of clothing that was worn by your loved one could help lower stress levels when you鈥檙e far from home.鈥�

ashley.wadhwani@bpdigital.ca
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