Well, this stinks: Some scents could screw up your mood, says a new study from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Researchers found that when people were induced to feel anxious, and then exposed to a normally neutral smell, their nerves were exasperated.
What’s going on? The areas of your brain that register emotion and smell are typically separated. But if you’re experiencing a certain emotion—like anxiety— you’re more likely to perceive a neutral scent as negative. And it’s a cycle: Your emotions can control how you perceive smell, and in turn affect your mood, says study coauthor Wen Li, Ph.D.
What scents evoke anxiety is completely individual, but this phenomenon may explain why your ex-girlfriend’s perfume can give you sweaty palms. Or, if your boss fired you over lunch, you could feel queasy walking into a deli.
To avoid it, you have to be aware of the connection first. But besides eliminating the source (which sometimes just isn’t an option), send a different sort of message to your brain by simply smiling. Research from the University of Kansas shows that faking a grin—even if you’re anxious—can be enough to trick your body into actually feeling happier.
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