Your Scents Attract Me
Imagine walking into a meeting room. You shake hands with colleagues, then everyone sits down. Within seconds they all start sniffing their palms, picking up clues about you from the chemical traces left over from the handshakes.
​
Sniffing palms after a handshake, usually within 30 seconds of the interaction, would likely help people learn about someone’s health and genetic compatibility, according to a 2015 study by researchers in Israel. Sniffing can also offer information on people’s emotional state, such as if they are happy, sad or fearful.
​
.jpg)
Every person has a unique scent.
“It’s like a fingerprint,”
says Johan Lundström, a neuroscientist at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden.
15% Off All Items
Human body odour can act like a scented fingerprint by the odourless substances made by skin bacteria from the apocrine sweat glands in the armpits. Human scent also affects our brain differently than other scents. When we catch a whiff, the areas of the brain responsible for social processing light up, according to a study that used positron emission tomography (PET) to measure brain function.
​
Although our noses can sometimes lead us astray, in general they send us important messages about other people. Be careful, a dangerous person was here and may be lurking nearby. Be cautious, a person is sick and may be contagious. Be alert, your newborn needs your care. Be flirtatious, this person is a potential partner. Being more open to our sense of smell has payoffs, even in modern times.
