The allure of pheromones: uncovering the secrets to popularity and sexual signals in sweat
For humans, as biological beings, a major purpose of life is to reproduce. If procreation were the sole purpose of sex, then men with high sexual energy would undoubtedly have stronger immune systems and be more energetic. However, besides reproduction, sex also involves pleasure and communication. Recently, rather than aiming to have children, more and more people are engaging in sex for pleasure or as a means of communication.
Thinking about it this way, it's still possible to see that men who have sex more often are probably more popular with women than men who have sex infrequently. Men who have sex more often tend to live longer, and they also find fulfillment in receiving affirmation and communication from women throughout their lives-there's nothing more gratifying than that. Sex hormones and pheromones not only have similar names, but both are also closely related to sexual function.
However, hormones and pheromones are two completely different substances. Hormones are substances secreted by glands in the body's endocrine system; they enter the bloodstream and act within the body itself. Pheromones, on the other hand, are released outside the body and act on other individuals. We generally consider pheromones to be "substances produced by an organ of an organism, released in trace amounts outside the body, and that induce specific behaviors in another individual of the same species."
Incidentally, because pheromones "only work on another individual of the same species," it's questionable what effect commercially available perfumes made with pheromones extracted from male musk deer might have on humans. All living things possess pheromones, but human pheromones are still under investigation, and their specific functions and mechanisms are currently unclear.
However, an experiment at the University of California, San Francisco, confirmed that humans also possess sex pheromones that can induce interest in the opposite sex. In this experiment, researchers placed cotton pads under the armpits of young women, analyzed the composition of the secretions absorbed by the pads, mixed the various components, dissolved them in a liquid, and sprayed this liquid onto approximately thirty female college students.
The results showed that these female college students experienced a sharp increase in the frequency of sexual intercourse with their partners. In addition, they also showed an increase in the frequency of caressing and kissing, and a greater sense of affection. Furthermore, other researchers conducted the following experiment: placing chairs sprayed with male pheromones in dental hospital waiting rooms and observing the reactions of men and women respectively.
The results showed that most women chose to sit on the chair sprayed with pheromones. A Japanese television program conducted a similar experiment, having several men stand in front of blindfolded women. One of the men had pheromones sprayed on his T-shirt, and the blindfolded women accurately selected that man. These experiments demonstrate that sex pheromones do indeed have an attractive effect on the opposite sex.
The study revealed that the sex pheromones emitted by men are androstenol and 4,16-androsten-3-one. Both are compounds produced by changes in testosterone, a male hormone, and are primarily found in sweat, urine, and semen from the armpits. These are released along with these bodily fluids to attract the opposite sex. In the aforementioned dental hospital experiment, most men appeared to avoid sitting on chairs sprayed with male pheromones.
It's likely that male pheromones can be uncomfortable for men, as they seem to only affect women. When people hear that pheromones attract the opposite sex, they often imagine them having a strong aphrodisiac smell. However, pheromones themselves are odorless. Although the secreted pheromones are absorbed through the nose, they are not perceived as a scent but rather act directly on the hypothalamus in the brain.
It can greatly stimulate the brain regions responsible for sexual activity. When a woman's brain senses pheromones, it increases the secretion of dopamine, another "happy hormone," enhancing its arousal effect. Since pheromones have such a powerful effect, how can they be made to smell them? Male urine and semen contain sex pheromones, but women can't smell them. The most useful agent here is sweat.
Sex hormones are also contained in underarm sweat so that others can smell them more effectively. Generally, women are shorter than men, so when standing side-by-side, a woman's nose is at about the same height as a man's armpit. Therefore, underarm sweat is the most effective way for sex pheromones to work-isn't that a clever mechanism? Of course, as I mentioned earlier, women also emit female sex pheromones.
Sex pheromones only work on your partner. So don't expect to become popular with men just by spraying female pheromones. Conversely, because sex pheromones can increase intimacy with your partner, you might use them to prevent infidelity, enhance your love for your partner, or make your crush more intimate.