My mother had a saying that money only had value when you don’t have it. And I guess that is the case with everything in life – you only value what you have when there is a chance that you might lose it.
I was recently confronted with the fact that we take our senses for granted, until the day they start deteriorating. We don’t appreciate that we need our five senses – sight, taste, touch, hearing and smell – for survival and happiness. Social scientists have also identified two additional senses – the vestibular sense which allows for balance and movement and our body awareness sense referred to as proprioception. But let us focus on the traditional five for now.
Each in its own way, the senses collect information about our environment and this gets interpreted by the brain. We make sense of this information, based on previous experience, complemented by subsequent learning. Some senses deteriorate with age but most of us retain all five well into our old age.
Advancements in science have enhanced the quality of life for those with sensory disabilities by providing basic accessories like glasses or contact lenses, alternative methods of communication, increased mobility and hearing aids. But the senses of taste, smell and touch, have no replacements that I know of.
Our dominant sense is sight. We perceive up to 80% of all impressions by means of sight. Improving eyesight is a run of the mill activity with no stigma attached. When I received my first prescription for glasses in Grade 8, it was no punishment – I suddenly had 100 % vision and some of my friends were slightly jealous of my new look. Hearing, which depends on 3500 tiny hairs deep inside the ear, is the most sensitive sense, due to the wide range of frequencies over which this ability operates.
Smell is the oldest sense and the only sense that has a direct connection to the brain. People can detect at least one trillion different distinct scents and as with fingerprints, each human has a distinct odour. Scientists claim that women have a better sense of smell than men and that people can even smell fear and disgust. French writer Marcel Proust’s famous story of the man who tasted a madeleine biscuit that brought back powerful memories of his past gave the olfactory sense a special meaning – as a powerful emotional trigger. Smell also affects taste to a large degree.
Touch is perhaps the most overlooked sense. Scientists have detected two touch systems in the body – one that gives the ‘facts’ — the location, movement, and strength of a touch — and the emotional touch system. This sends information to the brain that is crucial for social bonding. This includes things like a hug from a friend, to the touch you got as a child from your mother, to sexual touch.
Touch is crucial for a baby’s development. The best examples of this come from Romanian orphanages where there weren’t enough people around to take care of babies. They were barely touched during the day. These children ended up with weakened immune systems, skin ailments and a host of emotional problems — from depression to schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. The worst side-effect, however, was their inability to form relationships and express love and empathy in later life.
It is said that one hug of 15 seconds a week is necessary for your survival. Two hugs could make you happy and three will make you thrive. So, next time you try to steer clear of hugging friends or family members, remember that it could contribute to your health and your happiness!
