Sweat

[Racoon]

Chicks dig the sweat! :)

Any Ideas on why or how this evolved?

 

Women aroused by male sweat - Sexual Health - MSNBC.com

 

For women, apparently there’s nothing like the smell of a man’s sweat.

 

Researchers at the University of California at Berkeley said women who sniffed a chemical found in male sweat experienced elevated levels of an important hormone, along with higher sexual arousal, faster heart rate and other effects.

 

They said the study, published this week in the Journal of Neuroscience, represents the first direct evidence that people secrete a scent that influences the hormones of the opposite sex.

 

The study focused on androstadienone, considered a male chemical signal. Previous research had established that a whiff of it affected women’s mood, sexual and physiological arousal and brain activation. Its impact on hormones was less clear.

 

A derivative of testosterone, it is found in male sweat as well as in saliva and semen. It smells somewhat musky.

 

“It really tells us that a lot of things can be triggered by smelling sweat,” Claire Wyart, who led the study, said in an interview Wednesday.

 

Cortisol levels in the women who smelled androstadienone shot up within roughly 15 minutes and stayed elevated for up to an hour. Consistent with previous research, the women also reported improved mood, higher sexual arousal, and had increased blood pressure, heart rate and breathing.

 

Cortisol boost

For comparison’s sake, women also smelled baking yeast, which did not trigger the same effects.

 

This was the first time that smelling a specific chemical secreted by people was shown to affect hormonal levels, the researchers said. The women had no skin contact with androstadienone.

 

[ronthepon]

Interesting. And I've read about sex pheromones :). Apparently we're not above insects when it comes to this.

[InfiniteNow]

Some sweat... check out the "Scent of Symmetry" studies. Basically, women dug the sweat smell of those men who were more bilaterally symmetric than those that were not. It's curious, too, that symmetry is often a sign of a strong immune system. When one ear is an inch and a half lower than the other, it tends to mean that during puberty more energy was diverted to fighting infections than smoothing body growth.

 

Anyway, the smell of sweat is probably the strongest theory on why we have underarm and pubic hair. It catches the sweat and gives it greater surface area to waft outward. :evil:

 

Although, I never bought into those stinky people on the drag at Uni who said that not showering made them sexier. They made my eyes water more than a train ride through Paris. :naughty:

[Buffy]

Some sweat...

...and some women! :singer:

 

Did you ever wonder why we like you to bring us *flowers*? Hides at least some of that "forgot to take a shower this morning" eau de sueur...

 

Fastidiously,

Buffy