By Luke Vorstermans

A collection of facts, folklore and customs on the vital role our sense of smell plays in our sexuality.

We would all agree that the most important sex organ is the brain. That's where our sex drive and reproductive behavior are programmed.

When it comes to our senses, we tend to think that sight, touch, and sound are the most important sensual cues for humans. After all, we're obsessed with how we look, how our partner looks, how they stroke us, how we hold them and how their voice – both seductive and commanding – affects our response.

But when it comes to sex and mating, the most important sensory organ may be our sense of smell. Decades of research demonstrates that in our mating behavior, humans tend to follow their noses.

We know that odors and subliminal scents influence how animals develop, mate, bond, and nurture their offspring. Humans are no exception. Odors can accelerate puberty, control a woman's menstrual cycles, affect her moods, alter men's hormone levels and even influence sexual orientation.

Odors help us to distinguish lovers and family members, how often we have sex, and with whom. Just as the chemical appeal of food influences our food preferences, the scent of other people influences our people preferences.

Odors are the spice of life. Tall, dark, and handsome is a visual description of a masculine scent signature. Men prefer the natural scent of young women, who send chemical signals of maximum fertility levels. Many aspects of physical appeal in others are simply conditioned responses to pheromones and scents.

Aromas, fragrances and scents have been used for centuries to enhance the experience of seduction and lovemaking. This collection of facts, folklore and tips will give the reader a peak into the enticing world of how our sense of smell enhances the wonderful world of sex.

The sense of smell in the body is actually linked to a part of the brain that handles emotions and feelings. So, when you associate a smell with an erotic feeling, that smell can stimulate a sexual response.

The male pheromone, androstenone and the female, androstenol are subtle, undetectable scents that cause some men and women to feel attracted to each other, while other match ups are repelled by these same scents. Because Western culture is overly focused on being hygienic, many of the sexually charged pheromones are washed off, causing this innate power of sexual attraction to be muted.

Pheromones are activated at puberty and produced by glands in the armpit and around the genitals. These scent messages are delivered by our sense of smell to the limbic part of the brain which governs the most basic human emotions such as anger, joy, love, hate and sexual arousal.

Colognes and perfumes have been used since ancient times to increase the attraction between men and women. The ancient Egyptians used oils and flowers to create perfumes to increase sexual magnetism. If you have a good experience with a lover who wears a certain kind of cologne or perfume, you may associate that scent with happy feelings and unknowingly seek out a partner that smells the same way.

While we aren't consciously aware of another person's pheromones – we can't "smell" them in the traditional sense – they do have a major impact on us. They ignite the sex drive, increase fertility and help regulate women's menstrual cycles.

Legends have it that Cleopatra used a special blend of rose, cardamom, and cinnamon to seduce Marc Anthony to her boudoir. This spicy blend is often replicated in perfumes and colognes. Ancient Arabic books on sex often refer to the scent of black pepper for its sensual qualities.

Sandalwood oils are used in Tantric sexual practices as they stimulate the second chakra and a sexual response. Lovers that light sandalwood incense and use scented oils are thought to have more powerful orgasms.

Sexual pheromones aren't just good for helping attract the opposite sex – they can also help with increasing the amount of attention you receive from anyone that you come into contact with.

Women respond to pheromones more strongly than men do – they seem to favor men that have a musky and natural scent.

For the cattle-raising Dassanetch of Ethiopia, no scent is more beautiful than the odor of cows. The association of this scent with social status and fertility is such that the men wash their hands in cattle urine and smear their bodies with manure, while the women rub butter into their heads, shoulders and breasts to make themselves smell more attractive.

According to Harvard research, scents seem to be responsible for sexual responses more than any other sense in the body. That means that you might look good, but what you smell like is even more important.

Aphrodisiacs are named after the Greek goddess Aphrodite that ruled over matters of love and sex. These sexual enhancers are often scent-related.

Arab men may also wear perfumes: they use rose and aloe wood behind their ears, on their nostrils, in their beards and on the palms of their hands.

Pheromones can't make someone become attracted to you if they are not interested but if a person is attracted to that certain kind of pheromone, it increases your chances of finding the right sexual partner.

Women may receive free health benefits from certain scents of their sexual partner. These pheromones will increase her fertility, regulate the menstrual cycles and even increase her libido.

Because things like chili peppers, garlic, and pepper can cause a physical reaction – sweating, increased heart rate, etc. – when you smell them, your body can interpret these scents as sexual because the bodily reactions are similar to sex.

Like a man who whips his head around to follow a whiff of perfume, sperm cells turn their heads when they detect even the faintest of sexy female scents, according to a recent study. The study determined sperm cells can find ovarian scents even when the scents are diluted 100,000 times. The results confirm prior research on chemotaxis, the process by which sperm "sniff" sex chemicals and orient themselves in response.

On standard tests of smelling ability – including odor detection, discrimination and identification – women consistently score significantly higher than men. This superior olfactory ability of females is evident even in babies.

In Northern Sudan, both the bride and the other women attending the wedding ceremony are ritually perfumed with fragrant incense containing a blend of 'cold', masculine scents and 'hot', feminine aromas, to symbolize unity and promote fertility.

Having more sex may actually improve your sense of smell, which can lead to increased sexual response and more sex because you're more sensitive to smells that trigger your libido.

To be continued…look for more fascinating facts and folklore in Part II of Scent and Sex.

Please share this article with your friends, family and colleagues. Reprint rights granted. All reprints must include an active link to www.scentuellepatch.com. Content may not be altered and must be used as distributed The Orion Group Ltd. Copyright © The Orion Group, Ltd 2007

Author Bio:

Luke Vorstermans is the co-founder of The Sense of Smell Lab, a world leader in the development of innovative products that use our sense of smell to influence behavior, trigger memories, manage cravings, enhance moods and improve sexual health . To learn more about ways to increase sexual desire in women visit http://www.scentuellepatch.com

Article Source: http://www.articleset.com