Apparently My Sweat Could Make You Happy

I must confess. Lately I have been enamored with our increasing knowledge of how emotions and biological chemicals “communicate”.

As humans, we are very cognizant of how important words are for giving our opinions or telling stories or sharing love.

But imagine that there is another other language out there, the one where chemicals from one organism wafting around unseen, but sensed,  can communicate through receptors of another organism in similar ways as words.

Actually this does happen, all the time. But this is probably the first time you’ve heard about this one. It’s about sweat and happiness and smelling.

Let me explain as if it was my sweat you are smelling, although I am not sure whose sweat was smelt in the study published in the journal Psychological Science ((de Groot, Smeets, Rowson, Bulsing, Blonk, Wilkinson and Semin Psychol Sci. 2015 Apr 13. pii: 0956797614566318. [Epub ahead of print] A Sniff of Happiness))

Basically it looks like if you happen to come to the farm (where frequently I work in my garden happily) or decide you want to challenge me in tennis (where I am happy to oblige), and I sweat in the process, which I will, my happiness will make you happy. Because my sweat has chemicals in it that your receptors (your nose in this case) will recognize and you will become happy. Specifically the odor in my sweat will make you smile. If I am happy. Well, a least it will induce you to exhibit “a facial expression and perceptual-processing style indicative of happiness” as  the receivers of those signals. Or smells.

Yeah. I have requested the paper.

Sounds fishy to me.

I’m figuring they might have misread the perceptual-processing style as indicative of happiness.

Hey, but we can give it a try if you’ve a mind. As long as I am the sweat-ee.

Well, in some cases I might be willing to make the exception.