You may have heard of pheromones when people talk about attracting a mate. But that isn’t the only thing pheromones do.
What are pheromones? They are chemical signals given off by the body. Pheromones can exert a subtle influence on the people around you!
- Pheromones are perhaps best known for attracting mates. It isn’t hard to find perfumes and colognes that claim to help you attract the opposite sex with the power of pheromones! Research has shown that pheromones may help prevent inbreeding — we have an involuntary preference for mates who do not smell like family members. Studies have had women smelling t-shirts from a variety of men, and they consistently choose the ones who don’t smell like family.
- Pheromones are also known for creating feelings of arousal. Androstadienone is a pheromone that comes from male sweat; women who catch a whiff of this pheromone may experience a spike in cortisol levels. Cortisol is a hormone associated with sexual excitement and stress.
- Pheromones can synch up ovulation cycles among women. A Japanese study found that more than a third of female roommates find that their menstrual cycles synch up within three months. Researchers believe that there is one woman in any given group whose pheromones lead the synchronization — they call it the “pheromone driver” phenomenon.
- Pheromones can encourage women to reproduce. Exposure to nursing pads from breastfeeding women caused a 24% increase in the desire to reproduce in one study. Why? This could go back to the earliest societies — infants fared better when food was plentiful. (When the mothers ate better, lactation was more productive.) Pheromones may have developed to encourage other women to reproduce during times of plenty and not during times when food is scarce.
Pheromones are subtle things. In many of these studies, participants are exposed to scents for months. So a pheromone cologne or perfume may not work quickly enough to attract somebody you meet at a bar or party!