Thursday, February 08, 2007

Sweat: An Aphrodisiac?


You may have heard the phrase, "Never let them see you sweat." Well, there is new evidence that smelling sweat, yes smelling sweat, may be your ticket to gettin' the ladies. What am I talking about?

In this week's issue of The Journal of Neuroscience, researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, are studying how humans use chemosignals to attract one another. Rats, moths, and butterflies are all known to send chemosignals to secure mates. (Scientific American online). The researchers used androstadienone, a constituent of sweat, and studied the effects of how smelling this would affect the women subjects.
The researchers exposed 21 subjects to 30 milligrams of androstadienone and to yeast, which is not in sweat but has a similar olfactory sensation. The participants took 20 sniffs of each in two separate trials.

The researchers measured physiological vital signs like body temperature, skin conductance, ear pulse, blood pressure, respiratory function and cardiac rate throughout the experiment.

The results: smelling the androstadienone increased positive mood, total physiological arousal and sexual arousal, which grew with longer exposure.
I wondered why all those guys I see at the gym all the time have an active social life. It couldn't be because they're fit and trim and muscular and I'm fat and inactive and flabby. Nah! It's all in the sweat, dude!

So, guys, as an early Valentine's Day tip from Dr. A, it's not about jewelry. It's not about roses. It's not about chocolate. And, it's not about a romantic candle light dinner.

Wanna date? Then, go to the gym and workout so much that the ladies will be all over you. Probably, they'll be calling an ambulance or your mommy because you'll over do it on the treadmill (see picture above). But, at least, you'll be sweating, and that's all that matters. Happy Valentine's Day! HA!

22 comments:

meh said...

I must not be a woman then, cause the smell of sweat doesn't turn me on AT ALL!! :)

Firefly said...

That is so interesting, because sometimes I smell sweat from my boyfriend and feel intoxicated like it's the best smell in the world. Until I realize what I'm smelling that is.

Drizel said...

hahahaha....Why instead of going to the gym and over doing it...just keep a little bottle of this =>30 milligrams of androstadienone and to yeast.
then you will be Ok....EEEWWWW...I think but I am only a girl not a scientist:)

Chrysalis said...

What are you talking about? You're cute as a button. Guys, you can never go wrong with chocolate, unless of course she's allergic.

MM said...

hmmm... interesting. I guess it must be the pheromones!

Empress Bee (of the high sea) said...

oh doc that is nasty on so many levels. ha ha

i think i may buy stock in a deodorant company today just for luck.....

smiles, bee

Jacqueline said...

I agree with that I find a man who is sweaty kinda of a turn on, I mean come on lets face when it comes to intimacy we all love the hot sweaty passionate sex.

coaster1robert said...

that was funny,but i'm shure that would work.

Nikki Neurotic said...

With this in mind, maybe you can clear this up for me. I say that a human gives off a certain scent when they are experiencing a fear response and the scent can be detected (by dogs or other animals), she claims this isn't possible...so what do you think?

The Curmudgeon said...

It's almost enough for me to consider taking up exercise.

Almost.

MLB said...

I was just “next blogging’ around and found your site. Your post cracked me up.

My mother always said “Pigs sweat, men perspire and women shine.”

Ajit said...

sweat may be a turn on but it should not go beyond to body odor,when it surely will be a turn off.

JPGaston said...

there's clean-smelling sweat and then there's the different kind... i still say bring along flowers and chocolates, just in case. happy valentines doc! :)

Cathy said...

That is SO nasty! I remember when my husband worked out all the time, and then would tease me by trying to get close to me...This was NOT sexy! HA!

Anonymous said...

It's true, have you guys ever had a girlfriend that would sniff your armpit, inhale deeply and say Yummm!? It's super duper sexy. I'm not talking about gym foul old bacteria filled sweat. I'm talking healthy natural body odor sweat. Everyone covers their own natural body odor with deodorants or antiperspirants, latter which should not be used as it blocks the pores.
I think it's sexy and it's a big turn on. It's all natural, it's how god made sure we'd be attracted to one another before going to the next level!

I myself have a super sensitive nose, I can smell when a person has eaten garlic 3 days prior.
It's discusting when riding up the escalator behind a heavy person who can't reach their crutch while showering. Euwhhhh :(

Healthy sweat is sexxxxy!

Austin girl, pigs don't sweat, they breath through their noses, sort of like dogs that breath intensily to cool down. A farmer told me this

Dr. A.....Love your blog :D

Anonymous said...

I thought it was the amount of bacteria in the sweat that causes the foul odor?
Dr.A you're the doc here, you should be able to go into further detail as in why some sweat is so disgusting and other sweat is sexy

Anonymous said...

Today someone posted a comment from my blog, Adventures in Dating After 40 to your posting. My blog topic is "The smell of love" and someone thought your idea was an interesting juxtaposition to my opinion on attractive smells.

Dating Goddess
http://www.DatingGoddess.com

just me said...

The guys spend so much time at the gym because they may not have a social life?
Or they need to keep fit to be able to attract gals....so maybe it is not the sweat thing ha ha
Happy Valentine's day to you too!

Abigail S said...

Very funny post! Though, I have to disagree w/ the researchers. That may work on some test subjects... but def. not on me! Sweat is so gross! Blah!

Thanks for the laugh.

btw- here via cathy and the carnival!

katie eggeman said...

My DH and I were talking about this report. And I think it is why I always sleep on his pillow when he is away. but still eeewww

Anonymous said...

Definately. I know that when I'm doing laundry I like to take in the smell of my hubby's shirts.

Tammie Jean said...

Well I have to agree. When my husband has been working hard around the house or the yard, he has a certain scent that I love. This is NOT his been-workin-all-day-badly-need-a-shower body odor, which is not a turn-on.

Found your blog through the carnival and look forward to reading more :)