Doing this with your boyfriend can relieve stress, a new study finds
And you probably do it without realising
A new study has revealed that smelling your partner can relieve stress.
The study, published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, was conducted at the University of British Columbia and involved 100 couples.
The men were given a clean t-shirt to wear for 24 hours without deodorant, cologne or anything that would effect their natural scent.
Their partners were then given random t-shirts to smell which were either worn by their partner, by another man from the study or were completely clean.
They then underwent stress tests and the people who smelt their partner’s shirts were revealed to be less stressed. Some were even able to recognise their own partner’s smell.
Speaking about the study, lead author Marlise Hofer said: “Many people wear their partner’s shirt of sleep on their partner’s side of the bed when their partner is away, but may not realise why they engage in these behaviours.”
“Our findings suggest that a partner’s scent alone, even without their physical presence, can be a powerful tool to help reduce stress.”
It follows a similar 2000s study which was conducted in the same way with t-shirts and 24-hours of sweat, but was based on relationships in a family.