Researchers have actually discovered that exposure to human odors, particularly chemo-signals drawn out from sweat, may boost treatment for some mental health issues, such as social stress and anxiety. In a pilot study, clients undergoing mindfulness treatment while exposed to these chemo-signals experienced a higher reduction in social stress and anxiety compared to those receiving just mindfulness treatment. The psychological state of the sweat donor did not impact the treatment results, suggesting that human chemo-signals in sweat may usually affect response to treatment. This proof-of-concept research study might cause new ways of assisting people with Social Anxiety Disorder, such as increasing the effectiveness of e-health interventions. Nevertheless, additional research study is needed to confirm the findings.
European researchers discovered that human sweat odors might boost mental health treatment, especially for social anxiety. Patients exposed to these smells throughout mindfulness therapy showed higher improvement than those getting just mindfulness therapy.
A group of European researchers has shown that direct exposure to human smells, extracted from other individualss sweat, might be utilized to boost treatment for some psychological health issues.
In a preliminary study, the researchers were able to show that social stress and anxiety was decreased when clients went through mindfulness treatment while exposed to human chemo-signals, or what we typically describe as body smell, obtained from underarm sweat from volunteers. Providing the results of a pilot research study at the European Congress of Psychiatry in Paris, lead scientist Ms. Elisa Vigna, of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm said:
The European Congress of Psychiatry occurred from March 25-28, 2023, in Paris. It is Europes biggest congress devoted to psychiatry, with around 4500 participants.
Researchers have found that exposure to human odors, specifically chemo-signals drawn out from sweat, may enhance treatment for some psychological health concerns, such as social stress and anxiety. The psychological state of the sweat donor did not impact the treatment outcomes, suggesting that human chemo-signals in sweat may generally impact response to treatment. The study included gathering sweat from volunteers, and then exposing clients to chemo-signals extracted from these sweat samples, while they were being treated for social stress and anxiety. Once the sweat had actually been collected, scientists hired 48 ladies (aged between 15 and 35), all of whom suffered from social anxiety, and divided them into 3 groups each of 16 individuals. We were a little shocked to find that the psychological state of the person producing the sweat didnt vary in treatment outcomes– sweat produced while someone was pleased had the exact same impact as someone who had actually been frightened by a film clip.
For background on social anxiety, see https://www.nhs.uk/mental-health/conditions/social-anxiety/
Determined with the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, STAI, a typically used step where greater ratings suggest greater stress and anxiety levels
See https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/824153
” Our state of mind triggers us to produce molecules (or chemo-signals) in sweat which interact our emotion and produce corresponding responses in the receivers. The results of our initial research study reveal that combining these chemo-signals with mindfulness therapy seem to produce much better results in dealing with social stress and anxiety than can be achieved by mindfulness therapy alone.”
Social stress and anxiety is a common mental health condition where people worry excessively about participating in social situations. This may make it challenging to lead a typical life without excessive worrying about contact with others.
The research study involved gathering sweat from volunteers, and then exposing patients to chemo-signals extracted from these sweat samples, while they were being dealt with for social anxiety. The sweat samples were collected from volunteers who were watching brief clips from films: these movies had been selected to generate specific emotional states such as fear or happiness; this was to see if the specific feelings experienced while sweating had varying results on the treatment. The clips from afraid motion pictures consisted of content from scary films such as The Grudge. The delighted clips included product from Mr. Beans Holiday, Sister Act, and others.
As soon as the sweat had actually been collected, scientists hired 48 females (aged between 15 and 35), all of whom experienced social anxiety, and divided them into 3 groups each of 16 individuals. Over a duration of 2 days, they all went through mindfulness treatment for social stress and anxiety. At the very same time, each group was exposed to a different odor, acquired from the sweat samples of individuals who had actually seen various types of video clips, plus a control group, which was exposed to clean air.
Elisa Vigna said “We found that the ladies in the group exposed to sweat from individuals who had been enjoying afraid or funny films, responded much better to mindfulness therapy than those who hadnt been exposed. We were a little shocked to discover that the psychological state of the person producing the sweat didnt differ in treatment results– sweat produced while somebody enjoyed had the exact same result as somebody who had actually been frightened by a motion picture clip. So there might be something about human chemo-signals in sweat typically which affects the reaction to treatment.
It might be that simply being exposed to the existence of somebody else has this effect, however we require to confirm this. That is what we are checking now in a follow-up study with a similar style, but where we are also consisting of sweat from individuals watching mentally neutral documentaries. This should enable us to tease out whether any possible treatment benefits come from the unconscious perception of specific psychological signals, or whether it is simply to do with human presence, irrespective of feeling.”
For comparison, in the group getting only mindfulness (i.e., the control group) we saw a 17% reduction in stress and anxiety scores after one treatment session.
We are enthusiastic that this might lead to a new method of assisting people with Social Anxiety Disorder, for example increasing the efficiency of standalone e-health interventions (such as meditation apps) or supply an additional opportunity for those who do not respond to present treatment. Nevertheless, we warn that this is a proof-of-concept research study, which is why we are now starting a bigger study to confirm the findings.”
Human sweat is complex and variable in the way it carries details. The scientists are working with analysts at the University of Pisa who have actually been able to determine over 300 separates substances in human sweat. This work is part of the EU-funded Horizon2020 task POTION (” Promoting Social Interaction through Emotional Body Odours”).
Dr. Julian Beezhold (University of East Anglia, Secretary General of the European Psychiatric Association) commented:
” We welcome this research study, looking at one of the least looked into senses and its interaction with mental health. The findings are fascinating but will need to be robustly reproduced by independent researchers.”
This is an independent comment, Dr. Beezhold was not associated with this work.
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