'If You are Happy and You Know It...' Simply Sweat, Scientists Suggest

Even as sweat's aphrodisiac prowess are being debated, a new study claims it can lift mood.

The study which involved women volunteers reacting sweat samples from men, has concluded that sweating when happy can make others happy. Chemical signals or chemosignals in sweat odor can be perceived by others and enliven them. The findings of the study carried out by Utrecht University in Netherlands have been published in the journal Psychological Science.

To arrive at their conclusions researchers had 12 men part with their sweat samples after they got them to watch videos that altered mind states to fear or happiness. Women were chosen as subjects as they are better at detecting smells and more sensitive to emotional signals, The Times of India reported.

Researchers found that facial expressions of women differed when exposed to sweat samples produced under different conditions of mind-altering experiences the men underwent. When they smelt 'fear sweat', the women's medial frontalis which is associated with fear, was more active. However when exposed to 'happy sweat' the facial muscles worked to produce a Duchene smile, associated with positive emotions.

 "We observed that exposure to body odor collected from senders of chemosignals in a happy state induced a facial expression and perceptual-processing style indicative of happiness in the receivers of those signals. Our findings suggest that not only negative affect but also a positive state (happiness) can be transferred by means of odors," researchers wrote in the journal.