If you’ve ever found yourself with a seemingly inexplicable sniff, those around you may be the answer – because the act is just as contagious as yawning, scientists have claimed.
Researchers examined the airflow in women’s noses as they watched the 2006 film Perfume: The Story Of A Murder, which has 28 on-screen sniffs in the first hour.
The study found viewers unconsciously copied the behaviour, with a snuffle becoming significantly longer in the wake of one happening in the film.
Simply hearing the sound triggered the biggest response.
Writing in the journal Chemical Senses, lead scientist Anat Arzi, from the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel, said: ‘Contagious behaviour can be triggered by seeing, hearing or even thinking about another person doing it.’
She added that the findings show humans still act on the most primitive instincts.
‘The value of such a response is clear, because it would direct awareness towards valuable information such as danger, food or a potential mate,’ she said.’
‘If we hear someone sniffing without a visual target, this implies that there is something important in the air and we had better find out what it is.’
