A new study suggests that smelling other people's body odor might actually help reduce social anxiety.
Researchers at the University of Oxford found that people exposed to sweat samples from strangers experienced a decrease in feelings of anxiety in social situations by almost 40%.
The study says this calming effect could be due to humans' evolutionary history, where detecting and assessing the odor of others played a big part in social interactions. The researchers believe their findings may lead to innovative treatments for individuals suffering from social anxiety disorders, which affect around 15 million adults in the US alone.
Source: NY Post