Whether you are busy at work, with the household or the children: we can all use a little less stress. A surprising tip: try wearing your partner’s clothes. According to research, his/her/their hoodie would drastically reduce your stress level.
This content is imported from {embed-name}. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
It’s not for nothing that we like to rummage through our partner’s wardrobe. One of the reasons is the perfect oversized fit of a blazer, trousers or jacket (or shop at the men’s department, that’s also possible). But that’s not all, because research shows that wearing your partner’s clothes is super good for your mental health.
Less stress by wearing your loved one’s clothes
The research shows that women produce less cortisol when they smell their partner’s specific scent. Marlise Hofer, one of the researchers, says in an interview with Balls the following: “Many people like to wear their partner’s shirt or sleep on his/her/their side of the bed when they are away from home without knowing exactly why.”
Her conclusion? “Our research shows that just the smell of a partner, without the partner being present, is a powerful way to lower your stress.” In short: are you currently experiencing a lot of stress or are you planning a stressful event? Then it can pay off to put on an item from your loved one. Doesn’t benefit, doesn’t hurt.
Why does this work so well?
Why our partner’s smell has such a strong effect on our stress level? Hofer believes it has something to do with a sense of security. With our partner we feel safe, warm and at home. While strangers (and especially strange men) can increase the stress level, the smell of our partner can quickly negate this. Reason enough to experiment with this. I’m sorry dear, but we prefer to put on your blazer for our next important appointment.
The research
To come to this conclusion, the University of British Columbia studied 96 heterosexual couples, where the man wore a T-shirt for 24 hours. Without using deodorant (must have smelled nice…), perfume or eating fragrant dishes. This is to prevent the T-shirt from getting a certain smell that is different from the natural smell of the partner in question.
Then the T-shirts were stored in a freezer to retain the scent. The women who participated in the experiment had all the shirts in front of them. What turned out? The stress hormone cortisol was significantly less present in their partner’s T-shirt. This was not the case with the other T-shirts. So, bring on that hoodie!