Do old people have a certain kind of smell? According to a couple of studies, yes they do. And it's not in your head either.

Gerontologist and author of A New Wrinkle: What I Learned from Older People Who Never Acted Their Age, Dr. Eric Shapira doesn't know the actual reason for the smell. It is simply a process of what happens when our bodies age.

The body's chemistry changes from within as we get older and produces a certain scent. It is just more pronounce as you get older, hence the term "old-people-smell".

It doesn't smell bad. It's just different. A research done by Johan Lundström of the Monell Chemical Senses Center published in PLOS ONE tested the odors from the underarms of middle-aged adults and the elderly to find that middle aged men actually smelled the worst.

Grandpa came in second best. Actually pleasant apparently. Middle aged women came out on top of the list of most enjoyable body odors.

The scents from the shirts were worn by volunteers of various ages for five consecutive nights while they slept. They were then stored in sealed plastic bags during the day to keep the smell in. Volunteers were required to use scentless soaps and shampoos in the experiment and not to eat or expose themselves to strong smelling external things.

After the five days were up, scientists collected the sealed shirts and opened them to other volunteers to judge the fragrance. They were able to identify which shirts were worn by old people most of the time.

But what can the reason to this be? One thought according to physician Eric Shapira, is simple dehydration. Older people tend to be less thirsty resulting in them being more dehydrated and shedding more dry skin. The dead skin cells carry a musty smell and older people see a decline in oral hygiene over the years due to less efficient brushing. The lack of oral hygiene also contributes to the scent.

So don't worry if you start getting old-people-smell. It's just a natural progression of things to come. Slap on some cologne if you're worried.