How To Train Your Senses

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Yes, I can hear you. This smells really bad. I can taste the spices. Feel how soft it is! Sentences like these are a part of our everyday vocabulary. Our brain always perceives the things around us through our senses every second of the day, but we seldom wonder why we use them, or what we can do in order to enhance them. After all they’re there with us ever since we’re born, and stay as we adapt to new surroundings. But as much as you’d think that your senses are the best they are, they also do need some fine-tuning once a while.

One can spend countless hours at the treadmill toning their muscles or numerous trips to the parlor to pamper your face, but just a few minutes each day is all that you need in order to ensure that all of your senses work in the best condition they can – for they are, and should be, an integral part of every person’s exercise regime.

Here’s how:

Eyes:

1. It is crucial to blink. Most people today are glued to their mobile screens and don’t realize how long they go before they blink. Blinking retains the moisture in the eyes, and blinking rapidly for three to five minutes ensures that your eyes remain watery.
2. Eat foods rich in vitamin A. Vitamin A improves the vision, and hence we should include red or yellow colored foods like tomatoes, papayas, carrots, squash and green leafy vegetables in our daily diet.
3. Make sure that you have proper lighting in your room so that you don’t have to strain your eyes. Protect them from the glare of computer screens by placing a glare protector over it.
4. Wear sunglasses when you go outside, as too much sunlight can harm the eyes.
5. Rest your eyes after regular intervals. You can also perform these handy eye exercises:
   a. Roll your eyes around. Look to the left, then to the top, then to the right, and then at the bottom. Repeat in counter-clockwise direction. Perform five to ten times.
   b. Focus on one object. A candle in a dark room works best. Keep your eyes locked onto it, as you move it further from you, or nearer to yourself.
   c. Be aware of the surroundings in your peripheral vision. Move your eyes left to right and observe the things around you while still facing forward.

Ears:

1. Avoid listening to loud, incoherent music. Keep the volume down. In order to hone your hearing skills, try listening to soothing tunes between a medium to low volume.
2. Avoid pushing ear buds and sharp objects too deep inside the ear.
3. In order to clean the ears, dip an ear bud in oil or water and gently apply it on the ear folds, moving slowly inward. Use a soft cloth to wipe. If there is something inside the ear, pour a little bit of lukewarm water to get it out.
4. Low hearing or earaches should not go unheeded. Contact the doctor immediately if you’re experiencing ear pain or hearing difficulties.

Nose:

1. Clean your nose using a soft cloth. You can also use ear buds laced with oil or rose water. Avoid poking it in too deep.
2. Do not blow the nose too hard; it is also a sensitive organ.
3. Never expose your nose to strong bad smells. The olfactory nerves in your nose may slowly diminish in their abilities. In order to train them, try smelling a collection of different, pleasurable smells throughout the day. One example is that of lighting aroma candles in the room. You may also try Sniff therapy – which is when you have a collection of various smells in front of you, and you alternate between smelling them for three to five minutes. It can really boost the sense of smell.
4. Eat foods rich in zinc. A zinc deficiency often manifests itself in a dulled sense of smell. Zinc can be found in a variety of foods like seafood, pumpkin seeds, beans, spinach and mushrooms.
5. Exercise can actually help your smelling abilities. Going out for brisk walks, jogging etc. everyday can very much help in fine-tuning it.

Tongue:

1. Do not be in a hurry to eat all the hot food off your plate. Give your tongue receptors a break!
2. Use a tongue cleaner, which can be found in any common drug store, to clean your tongue right after brushing your teeth in the morning or at night.
3. Keep the level of salt and sugar in your food a minimum, as they have a tendency to cloak the other flavors under their own taste and can make it difficult to discern the palate. Foods like stews and casseroles have the same effect, since all of the individual tastes seem to mash together and be indistinguishable.
4. Variety is the spice of life! Make sure you have all kinds of tastes involved on your plate. Adding spices to your food can also increase your sensitivity to different tastes.

Skin:

1. Skin is the largest organ of the body, but is just as sensitive as the others. Any kind of abrasions, hard scrubbing and so on can affect the skin cells. Make sure you have a bath daily and the soap you use is skin-friendly and soft enough to not make it dry.
2. Eat lots of fruits and vegetables. Vitamins can especially boost skin health.
3. Use a good sunscreen while going out in sun.
4. Treat your skin infections right away! Avoid letting them fester, and contact a dermatologist immediately.
5. Pamper your skin. Using bath salts, exfoliation and cleansing can really unclog the pores on your skin and make it clearer. Wash your face with a good, mild face wash once a day.
6. Smoking, sunbathing and tanning salons can cause premature aging of the skin. Hence, avoid their use.

Abiding by these self-enhancing rules every day. One can really make certain that you senses are in ideal condition, thereby improving your health on the whole.