Gimme Your Hoodie, Please
Stealing your boyfriend’s hoodie is actually good for your mental health.
Written by Jessica Katz, Lifestyle Editorial Assistant, and Illustrated by Nicole Glesinger, Graphics Team
I love wearing my boyfriend’s hoodies. Not because I don’t have any of my own; I have a closet full of them. There’s just something special about wearing his hoodies. They’re cozier. They smell like him. They are like a warm embrace, like I’m all snuggled up in his arms.
I could never wholly justify stealing his hoodies, but now, I’m in luck. Stealing your boyfriend’s hoodies has been scientifically proven to benefit your mental health.
Research conducted for the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology studied 96 women in heterosexual relationships. The women were assigned to smell three scents, either their partner’s, a stranger’s or a neutral scent, after being exposed to a stressor. Those who were exposed to a stranger’s scent had elevated cortisol levels, those who were exposed to their partner’s scent had reduced perceived stress (Hofer et al., 2017). This study showed that the scent of another could spark emotions and memories, and it suggests that sniffing your partner’s clothes can actually reduce stress.
According to psychologist and psychotherapist Peter Klein, how comforting a woman finds her boyfriend’s clothing depends on how she feels about him. If a woman experiences positive feelings when she’s with her boyfriend, she releases oxytocin, also known as the “love hormone” or “cuddle hormone.” If a woman releases oxytocin when she’s around her boyfriend or overall feels happy in the relationship, she will most likely have a positive emotional response to his clothing (Fry, 2018).
So the smell (and clothes) of a loved one can have a powerfully calming effect on women, which explains why I adore wearing my boyfriend’s hoodies. But what about men?
I mean, we never hear about boyfriends stealing their girlfriends’ clothes. For me personally, that has only happened once. It could have something to do with gender norms or differences in emotions or love languages. But according to Klein, this may be due to a difference in senses. Research suggests women have a more developed sense of smell, while men are more visually stimulated (Fry, 2018).
A romantic connection is not simply about the warm, gooey feelings in your heart; attraction actually comes from a quick, yet complex series of calculations in your brain. In any sort of relationship, all five senses play a role in budding attraction. And once that attraction is confirmed, your bloodstream is flooded with norepinephrine (a neurotransmitter that increases blood pumping from your heart). Your pupils dilate, your heart beats faster — your fight-or-flight system is activated, as your body tells you something important is happening. Norepinephrine also helps you focus, creating a tunnel vision that blocks out your surroundings and enhances your memories, so you can be more present in the moment with that special person (Soffe, 2016).
Your body likes to play matchmaker for you, so appreciate your senses and how they respond to potential suitors in your life.
And hey! You no longer have to feel selfish for wanting to steal your significant other’s hoodies — there’s actual science to back you up.
Sources:
Lucy Fry, “Why Sniffing Your Partner’s Used Clothing Could Make You Happier,” The Guardian (Guardian News and Media, October 24, 2018)
Marlise Hofer et al., “Olfactory Cues from Romantic Partners and Strangers Moderate Stress Responses,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 2017
Emilie Soffe, “The Five Senses of Attraction (in TED-Ed GIFs),” TED, January 7, 2016