Happy Sweat Can ‘Infuse’ Positivity in Those Smelling It.

Next time that overly smug jogger makes you feel a little inadequate, it might be in your interest to get a good long smell of his sweatiness as he breezes past you. It’s the kind of suggestion that’s more likely to have you choking on your pancakes than listening attentively, but research suggests that when a person in a positive frame of mind sweats, they transmit a sort of a chemical ‘happy vibe’ that rubs off on those sniffing the stuff up.

I ever read a somewhat stomach-churning study was carried out by a team from Utrecht University in the Netherlands in order to find out what kids of effects our sweat can have on other people. It’s been theorized on multiple occasions that certain chemical compounds – aka ‘chemosignals’ – in sweat can transmit negative thoughts and emotions to those picking up the aroma, but the idea of transmitting positive feelings had never been looked into.

Let’s be honest – it’s not very often any us walks past a person clearly in need of a hygiene lesson and feels the urge to grin with pure, unbridled happiness. But if new research published this weekend in the journal Psychological Science is anything to go by, the sweat we produce when we ourselves are in a happy state of mind could make those around us picking up the pong feel happier as a result.

In a nutshell, the test involved getting a bunch of blokes to sweat out a few samples while being exposed to material that was either joyful, neutral or downright scary. After this, a larger group of women was invited to take a sniff of the samples, at which time their faces were studies closely for signs of movement/expressions indicative of an emotional response.

When they smelled the sweat emitted during times of fear, their faces instinctively moved slightly in a manner that conveys worry or stress. But when the more joyful sweat samples were whiffed, their faces moved in a manner more associated with happiness and positivity. As such, the theory that it may be possible to ‘infuse’ a bystander with your own mood simply be having them smell your sweat appears to be right on the money.

This suggests that somebody who is happy will infuse others in their vicinity with happiness. In a way, happiness sweat is somewhat like smiling – it is infectious. Of course, chances are none of us will respond any kinder to even the happiest of chappies who clearly forgot the deodorant this morning, but still…you might think twice next time you pick up the pong of a stranger.

Exposure to body odor collected from senders of chemosignals in a happy state induced a facial expression and perceptual-processing style indicative of happiness in the receivers of those signals.
Not only negative affect but also a positive state (happiness) can be transferred by means of odors.