Sad Nipple Syndrome: A Booby Baffler

Science Vs

Spotify Studios

Education, Science, Health & Fitness

4.4 • 12.4K Ratings

🗓️ 12 March 2026

⏱️ 26 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

People are reporting a very strange phenomenon: They say that when their nipples get touched, they feel this weird sinking feeling. People describe it like being homesick, or hung over. Some feel anguish and despair, others call it dread. The condition has a name: "Sad Nipple Syndrome." But how could just touching a nipple set off all of these feelings?? To get to the bottom of this booby baffler, we go deep into the mysteries of anatomy and through a world of hormones and nipple erections. You might never look at your nipples the same way again! Distinguished Professor Barry Komisurak and Lactation Specialist Alia Macrina Heise join us. Find our transcript here: https://bit.ly/ScienceVsSadNippleSyndrome In this episode, we cover: (00:00) Meet Sad Nipple Syndrome (05:14) Why is Nipple Play Arousing? (09:58) Dysphoric Milk Ejection Reflex (D-MER) (15:14) How Milk Ejects From a Booby (17:33) Is Oxytocin to blame? (19:36) Suspect Number 2: Dopamine (20:52) What might help This episode was produced by Wendy Zukerman, with help from Meryl Horn, Rose Rimler, Michelle Dang and Ekedi Fausther-Keeys. We’re edited by Blythe Terrell. Fact checking by Erica Akiko Howard. Mix and sound design by Bobby Lord. Music written by Emma Munger, So Wiley, Peter Leonard, Bumi Hidaka and Bobby Lord. A special thanks to the researchers we reached out to including Dr. Christina Raimondi, Professor Caroline Pukall, Professor Craig Richard, and Prof. Dr. Inga D. Neumann. and a big thanks to Joseph Lavelle Wilson and the Zukerman family. Science Vs is a Spotify Studios Original. Listen for free on Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts. Follow us and tap the bell for episode notifications. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi, hello. Tell me about your nipples.
0:03.3	Well, where to start?
0:06.1	Hi, I'm Wendy Zuckerman and you're listening to Science Verses.
0:11.3	Today on the show, a curious medical mystery.
0:20.1	Let's just jump right in.
0:21.9	So when my friend Scarlett was really little, four or five,
0:26.6	she noticed something really strange.
0:29.9	Whenever any kind of touch to the nipples occurred,
0:33.5	like putting on a singlet or something,
0:34.8	I would get a really terrible feeling.
0:38.5	Whenever a shirt happened to brush past her nipples, this overwhelming feeling came over her.
0:46.0	And now, years later, Scarlett says that while her nipples aren't as sensitive as they used to be,
0:51.6	she still told me that whenever anyone touches her nipples, she gets this
0:57.3	very specific feeling. I think of it as being like feeling homesick or even a bit hungover.
1:03.5	Like, you know, when you wake up in the wrong place and you're kind of feeling a bit lost or a bit
1:08.6	depressed, almost a bit of a sense of anguish or despair even.
1:14.0	Just feels so uncomfortable in my body.
1:16.0	Like if you were feeling the worst sadness you were ever feeling,
1:19.5	so I just want to not touch them anymore.
1:21.8	Once her nipples are in the clear, not being touched anymore,
1:25.4	Scarlett feels like herself again. She said it's just this weird thing
1:30.3	that happens to her. The kind of thing that you think is normal at first until you start talking to
	...

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