The researchers collected sweat samples from people who’d watched film clips associated with happy vibes. (For example, Baloo the bear singing “The Bare Necessities” in Disney’s The Jungle Book.) The researchers also collected sweat samples from people who’d watched neutral or scary clips. Next, they asked a separate group of people to sniff those sweat samples (gross). Based on facial muscle cues, the study team found those who’d had a whiff of the happy people’s sweat tended to act happier themselves. Similarly, people who sniffed the freaked-out sweat samples felt antsy and anxious. MORE: 20 Strange Things That Could Make You Smell All of this may sound nuts. But the study team says something called “chemosignaling” may explain how emotions could be passed on through scent. Humans appear to produce different scent-based chemical signals when experiencing fear or happiness. And these signals are sent and received without your realizing it, says study coauthor Gün Semin, PhD, a behavioral scientist at Utrecht University in the Netherlands. Here are 6 more crazy things you’d never suspect about your dynamic sense of smell and what each abilty (or lack thereof) can say about your health: It helps you sense others’ emotions Not only can you “catch” emotions, but you can also feel them, shows another Psychological Science study. From disgust and fear to sexual arousal, your nose knows what the people around you are feeling—even if you’re not aware of their emotions at a conscious level. It can predict your lifespan Compared to people who aced a smell test, those who struggled to identify some common odors like oranges or peppermint were 20% more likely to die within five years. The University of Chicago study team says losing your ability to identify odors may be a very early warning sign of impending health trouble. How? Your sense of smell—like many of your body’s life-sustaining systems—depends on proper cell health and regeneration. Losing that sense may signal cellular issues, which would explain the links to a shorter lifespan. MORE: 5 Things Your Blood Type Says About Your Health It can kindle (or kill) new romance When you kiss someone, your nose is busy inhaling and analyzing scent-based genetic information about your partner. One scent study from the University of Lausanne in Switzerland found women were more attracted to men whose immunity genes differed from their own. Why? If your immunity genes contrast with your partner’s, your children will be better protected from illness, the study authors say. (This may explain why some first kisses are magical, while others are disappointing.) It helps you recall experiences Research from the journal Nature shows those areas of your brain involved with long-term memory are “coupled” with brain regions related to your sense of smell. That may explain why a whiff of an old perfume or mothballs can abruptly flood your noodle with memories of childhood or long-ago experiences. MORE: 7 Things Your Eye Color Says About Your Health It solidifies new memories Just as some scents can evoke long-forgotten experiences, other scents can help you form new memories. Researchers from Northumbria University in the UK found people who sniffed rosemary were better able to recall information despite distraction. The researchers say sniffing a rosemary compound called eucalyptol appears to fire up your brain’s memory-storing centers. MORE: 7 Things Your Hair Says About Your Health You can hardly taste without it Roughly 75% of what you taste is actually based on your sense of smell, shows a report from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. You’ve probably noticed this while trying to enjoy food when your nose is stuffed up. Apart from a food’s texture and temperature—as well as very bitter, salty, sweet, or sour notes—almost all the nuances of flavor are tied to your brain’s scent-based olfactory receptors, the UNL researchers say.
