How does sensory perception affect our wellbeing?
The Science
Our senses play an integral role in our emotional processing, learning, and interpretation. When we encounter something sensory, our body sends a signal to our brain via neuronal paths. This triggers our response to the stimuli. The brain keeps developing these paths through adulthood and into your 20s. The stimulation to our senses has been proven to build nerve connections, supports motor skills and problem-solving skills, aides memory function, and affects our mood & emotional responses.
Sight
Colour, light, shape, distance, beauty. We are moved by beauty, it is part of human nature, in-built. It’s unique to us as individuals but generally people are moved by beauty in nature and can easily say that it ‘makes them feel good’ when we see things like a stunning sunset, and that we enjoy the moment – this particular experience includes colour, light, shape and distance too.
Touch
Because we have so much sensory data sent to our brains from our skin, in particular our fingers, touch becomes an important feedback system within our bodies. We are sensitive to temperature, texture, movement. Many people like the experience of stroking a pet, it’s fur, it’s warmth, and there is research that has proved this can reduce stress and facilitate an improvement in wellbeing.
Smell
This is an interesting aspect of the human brain in that we have no control over the very first response to putrid smells, we are designed to feel revulsion and avoidance. Similarly, we can have an automatic response to smells that we like, e.g. our mouth watering at the smell of food that we really enjoy, or memories activated by someone’s perfume/aftershave. People generally like the scents that are found in nature, like flowers, or freshly cut grass, or the smells associated with the seaside. We can identify the difference between natural smells like herbs, basil, parsley and rosemary, and those that are artificial, like bleach and shampoo. Some smells are stimulating to the brain and make us more alert, like rosemary or mint, and some have a sedative effect, like lavender, and some have a soothing effect, like rose. To improve your wellbeing it’s great to find the smells that you like and find uplifting or soothing.
Sound
Lots of people find music helpful! We are free to chose the types of sounds that trigger a response e.g. some people like the sounds of nature to fall asleep to - some people like to move/bounce/dance as soon as they hear some good drum ‘n bass! We all know what it’s like to want to listen to something that reflects our mood, from a sad mood to a playful mood. We are surrounded by sound all the time and have an amazing capacity to screen out a lot of it, this is often why people refer to wanting some ‘peace and quiet’ because it is easier for the brain to rest without the audio stimulation.
Taste
We all have to eat, and there are a range of flavours that we register as tastes from sweet to salty, bitter to spicy, bland and sour. A little bit of what you like does you good, and we enjoy the flavours that appeal to us as individuals. Take the time next time you’re eating to slow down your sensory experience to actually register the taste your mouth is having. An interesting exercise is to try foods with a friend, one with their eyes closed and try identifying the flavour ranges and name the food based on taste alone, usually texture will also be highly informative. Similar to our fingers, our mouth sends a huge amount of data to the brain heightening our sensory awareness and experience.
Try this...
It helps to be aware of and focus in on our senses when practising mindfulness. Try limiting stimuli and focus on only one or two senses: like turning off your music when having a cup of tea, or alternatively, listening to audio with your eyes closed or in a dark room.
This article has been brought to you by Zita (from Student Services) as part of The Small Things Matter, a wider mental health campaign put together by AUBSU. Keep an eye on the official aubsu_matter Instagram for more content over the year. If you feel that you need further support, you can book a wellbeing drop-in or counselling session with Student Services.