Pheromones in humans

introduction

Pheromones are so-called messenger substances, which ensure that two people can contact each other and perceive each other in a certain way.
It is difficult to describe what a pheromone is, because it is a messenger substance that a person (or an animal to an animal of the same species) sends out and which another person receives without both knowing about it.
Many patients associate pheromones with smell, but this is not entirely true. Nevertheless, the pheromones have significantly coined the term "being able to smell another person well".

Pheromones - what is it?

Above all, what the pheromone is can be with interpersonal relationships Compare and understand where it is important to know that pheromones poured out by each individual flies, for example, with only the same species reacting to these pheromones. Often times, pheromones are assigned a sexual or attractive meaning. This is because pheromones are obvious a decisive role in choosing a partner play. The concept of being able to smell someone well is not true, there Pheromones odorless are, however, the messenger substances that are sent out between two people seem to convey important information. There are initial indications that the pheromones can change and influence the sexual perception of a potential partner by up to 8%. Still, this is the realm of pheromones until today still quite unexplored.

definition

Pheromones are chemical messengersthat are exchanged between two individuals of the same species (e.g. mosquito and mosquito or human and human), without being able to control or influence this exchange and without the individuals perceiving that an exchange is taking place.
The word pheromone comes from the Greek and means something like "carrying hormone". The exact function and mode of action of the pheromones has not yet been clearly clarified, especially in humans, the effect of the pheromones is still correct unexplored. However, it is believed that pheromones play a certain role in sexual orientation and partner choice. True, pheromones are odorless, yet they seem to have played a key role in the expression “being able to smell someone good”.
In general, one can say that a pheromone is released by one person and then leads to a certain reaction in the other, without both people being actively aware that this is happening. It is not yet fully understood what the reaction of the other depends on, but it is assumed that pheromones different types of reactions can trigger. For example, it is possible that they trigger a specific behavioral response (in this case the pheromone is called a Releaser) or that they provoke a physiological change (in this case it is called a pheromone Primer). That pheromones also have a certain stimulating function also seems to have been proven.

effect

The effect of the pheromones is to this day not completely clarified and therefore difficult to describe. It is assumed that the effect of the pheromones is that the pheromones sent out cause a specific behavioral reaction or a trigger physiological response. The exact nature of this reaction depends on the pheromone sent.
The action of the pheromones seems to play a certain role in the inter alia sexual orientation and the Partner choice to play. It could be that a person sends out specific pheromones that another person receives and that these pheromones lead to the other person being perceived as attractive or sexually attractive. It is unclear whether the effect of the pheromones actually significantly influences our choice of partner, but it is assumed that they are about 8% of our partner choice significantly co-determined.
In the Wildlife Pheromones also appear to play an important role in warning other animals, as is the case with dogs marking their territory. In general, however, very little research has been carried out into the precise effects of pheromones. Although we know that these are messenger substances that serve the purpose of interaction, we also know that the effect of the pheromones is probably only very small and is superimposed by other various factors.

Are there pheromones for men?

It is believed that men produce the pheromone androstenone in the sweat glands of the armpit, which is believed to play a role in women’s sexual behavior. Depending on the stage of the menstrual cycle, women perceive the pheromone differently. During their ovulation, the fragrance is described as pleasant. It has an unpleasant effect on the rest of the cycle. The bottom line is that women feel more sexually attracted during their fertile days and are more likely to have sexual contact and pregnancy.

Another pheromone is androstadienone, which is also excreted in sweat and increases cerebral blood flow and activity in the opposite sex. It is believed that this makes it easier to find a partner.

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Pheromones in perfume

A recurring trend is the promise that pheromones in perfume make a person smell irresistible and help them so that everyone else can “smell them good”. First of all, it is important to say that human pheromones are odorless messenger substances, i.e. they would not have any effect in perfume. Furthermore, the effect of pheromones and their influence on sexual behavior is still poorly understood. It is assumed that pheromones can induce a certain pleasure, but one is also certain that other factors play a much more decisive role in this.
Pheromones in perfume are therefore just a trick used by perfume manufacturers. Although there are various fragrances, such as vanilla scent, that obviously have a certain stimulating effect on certain people, the promise that pheromones in perfume can make a person scent irresistibly has not been scientifically proven. In addition, every person sends out their own pheromones even without perfume, which is why pheromones in perfume are absolutely not necessary.

Are there pheromones for women?

Pheromones and their effects partly differ in women, but are also subordinate in the area of ​​sexual behavior. In a behavioral study, researchers found that a group of women living together tended to have their menstrual periods on the same days. It is believed that pheromones in women can synchronize the menstrual cycle.

Other fragrances are released from the secretory glands of the vagina, which can lower the heart and breathing rate in men during sleep and thus bring men into a calmer state. Study participants reported positive dream content.

From an evolutionary point of view, this has a considerable advantage, since the probability that the woman will be abandoned by the man decreases, which ultimately increased the woman's chances of survival in earlier times.

Can pheromones increase attractiveness?

Nowadays there are some perfume vendors who advertise the irresistible effects of pheromones on the opposite sex.

But if someone hopes to have no more problems finding a partner with the help of such a fragrance, then unfortunately they have to be disappointed. Despite the expensive prices and good marketing, there are still no studies. which clearly demonstrate an increased attractiveness through pheromones, which is why one should be critical of various pheromone products. While there is evidence that pheromones are attractive, today's science is not yet ready to say to what extent pheromones can make a person more attractive.

As already said above, in some phases of the female cycle the pheromone androstenone can even reduce the attractiveness of a man.

Presumably many other criteria, such as appearance and character, play a more important role in attractiveness and the pheromones are just holdovers from the old days.

There musk however pheromone-like structures possesses and has a certain stimulating (aphrodisiac) effect, musk pheromones are often used in perfume, which are then supposed to trigger a stimulating effect on the person. However, many people seem to find the smell of musk unpleasant, which is why the stimulating effect is nullified again in this case.
In general, pheromones in perfume are a gallant trick to promise people that the perfume they buy will attract other people. However, it has been proven that the effect of the pheromones is so small that their alleged effect in a perfume is negligible.

Smell of the pheromones

The smell of the pheromones is a mystery as many perfume manufacturers try to sell the smell of the pheromones as a good smelling perfume which is supposed to help a person to smell irresistible. In truth, however, are Pheromones odorless. What is certain is that the smell of the pheromones does not exist. It is therefore also not possible to capture this smell and produce a perfume from it.
The old saying “being able to smell a person well” seems to be closely linked to the pheromones, since the pheromones are obviously involved in our choice of partner, but there is no odor from the pheromones that would make a patient smell irresistibly good . However, since pheromones have the Sweat glands are given off, the impression often arises that this sweat odor is associated with pheromones, whereby it is important to distinguish between the odor of sweat and the odorless pheromones. In general, one can think of pheromones as little invisible letters that convey information about one person to another without the smell of the pheromones being a factor.

Side effects

Pheromones are just as much a part of the body as, for example, sweat production or the production of saliva. Therefore, side effects are not to be feared with pheromones, since they are substances produced by the body itself.
Since the effect of these messenger substances has not yet been fully deciphered and one does not know what exact role they play in sexual orientation and in the choice of partner, pheromones are suspect to many people. Some people claim that the side effect of pheromones is that they induce us to be attracted to the wrong men or women, or to have sexual desires for the wrong partners. However, this is not scientifically founded.
However, it is important to distinguish between the fact that, for example, the perfume industry produces various perfumes that are said to contain pheromones. These can of course have various side effects, whereby the side effects are not related to the pheromones, but rather to other ingredients in the perfume.