The Weird Trick That Will Help You De-Stress In Seconds

The next time you feel a stress spiral coming on, trying smelling your partner’s dirty duds. 

Yep, research out of the University of British Columbia has found that the scent of your significant other’s clothing was associated with lower levels of the stress hormone cortisol in your blood.

In the study, 96 women were assigned to sniff one of three scents – their romantic partner’s, a stranger’s, or a neutral scent – and were put through the Trier social stress test.

Perceived stress was reduced in women who were exposed to their partner’s scent while cortisol levels were raised in women who were exposed to a stranger’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 these behaviours,” lead study author Marlise Hofe said in a statement.

“Our findings suggest that a partner’s scent alone, even without their physical presence, can be a powerful tool to help reduce stress.”

“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,” added Hofer.

“This could happen without us being fully aware of it.”

But whipping out your BF’s boxers in the middle of the office might raise a few eyebrows, so perhaps try these 5 Simple Ways To Reduce Stress And Anxiety In 3 Minutes Or Less…

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