Last month, I talked about how routines can be bad for you.  Continuing on with the subject of Neurobics, can you name the two senses that we use most (Jeopardy theme music enters here)?  That’s right ~ the senses that we use most are vision and hearing.  If you close your eyes and try to navigate through a room, what do you find?  You sense of touch becomes most important.  Even though you many have been in this room a million times, not being able to see now becomes a real challenge, and your brain kicks into overload to try to picture the room, allowing you to successfully navigate through it. 

      Have you ever thought about how many of our everyday experiences appeal to one main sense, our vision?  Billboards, television advertisements, and product packaging all contribute to not only our desire to purchase the product, but also to the experience we may have after we purchase it.  Remember the “Coke is the real thing” TV add where a perspiring sports celebrity opens a refreshing, ice cold Coca Cola and takes a BIG drink and then finishes with an “Ahhh”?  Our eyes see a person whom we admire drinking a product and is instantly refreshed.  We may be thinking, “I could really use an ice cold Coke right now.”  So, we run out and purchase one.  Think back to your favorite Superbowl advertisement.  Why did you like it so much?  How did it appeal to your vision and hearing that entitled it to be your favorite?

   Now, let’s not leave out our other 3 senses: smell, taste, and touch.  These senses play an important role in memory, too.  Try texting at a rapid pace without looking at your hands.  I bet there are tons of teenagers that can do this just by the touch of the keys and their memory where the letters are.  What about smell?  Does the smell of fresh baked bread or out-of-the-oven chocolate chip cookies sound good?  What type of feeling does this evoke?  Does your mouth start watering?  Associations based on smelling play an important part of our memory, form rapidly and persist for a very long time, unlike our other senses.   Smells may also trigger emotional responses, such as perfume or cologne.

     Why not try using your underutilized senses of smell, taste, and touch to challenge your brain and help increase your mental fitness today?  And, go ahead.  Reward your sense of smell and taste with those warm, gooey chocolate chip cookies when you’re done.