Lifestyle - Sweat can determine fate of romance

WASHINGTON: When it comes to romance, it seems that sweat is all you need to determine the fate of the relationship.


A new study has suggested that if one perspires a lot while talking to a romantic partner, then that person may not be the right choice, the latest edition of 'Journal of Social and Personal Relationships' reported.

According to researchers, sweating is a sign that the person is making an effort to control his or her own behaviour and becoming agitated in a way that requires self-control.

The study's lead author, Glenn Roisman, said: "Both heart rate and skin conductance have been linked to a host of important outcomes in interpersonal relationships including the likelihood of divorce.

"It's a problem if you need to inhibit yourself greatly while having a conversation with your partner about the kinds of things that you would ordinarily be talking about and trying to resolve in your daily lives."

The researchers at the University of Illinois have based their findings on an analysis of a questionnaire filled up by dating, engaged and married couples -- the subjects were asked to give information about their own and their partners' personalities and the quality of their relationships.

They also measured the participants' heart rate and skin conductance -- which measures sweat -- in their study to come to the conclusion that perspiration is linked to romance.

Interestingly, the researchers found that the way the participants described themselves and their relationships was not strongly linked to how they behaved towards one another at least to some extent.