Sweat, cheer and friends a way to better health

According to a study conducted at Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, exposure to other people’s sweat can relieve people suffering from social phobia. Depending on a person’s state of mind, the chemical molecules in sweat convey their emotional state and trigger appropriate reactions in other people. People with social anxiety may benefit from mindfulness therapy combined with exposure to the smell of other people’s sweat.

According to research by experts from Anglia Ruskin University School of Psychology and Sport Science, attending a live sporting event as a spectator translates into higher self-esteem of respondents regarding life satisfaction and lower loneliness scores. According to researchers, through the social interactions inherent in sporting events, people can naturally feel a sense of belonging, making them less lonely.

Researchers from the University of Michigan and the University of California, San Francisco, say that the positive social experience of connecting with good friends has a positive impact on stress levels and coping ability and indicators of physical health. In a study involving more than 4,000 people, good experiences of social relationships were associated with better day-to-day coping, less stress, lower systolic blood pressure and less frequent blood pressure spikes under stress.