“You must learn to heed your senses. Humans use but a tiny percentage of theirs. They barely look, they rarely listen, they never smell, and they think that they can only experience feelings through their skin. But they talk, oh, do they talk.”

Michael Scott (Irish writer)

That’s right. Our minds never stop chattering, but we can disengage from the chatter by heeding to our senses. It is also an effective technique to reduce stress and anxiety instantly. If you ever feel the need to break from the thoughts that run through your mind, give this exercise a try!

The 5 Senses Countdown

– Pause for a moment.

Find yourself a calm comfortable space to fully participate with your 5 senses.

1. The SIGHT Phase – 5 Senses Countdown

In the first of the 5 senses, we are going to utilize our sight.
First, take a deep breath.

Next, look around and notice FIVE things that you can see.

The floor, table, curtains, trees, animals, anything you see is okay.

You can say them out loud or silently in your head. With each of the five sights, pause to take them in completely. 

2. The TOUCH Phase – 5 Senses Countdown

Take another deep breath.
Next in the 5 senses countdown, we will be using touch.

Notice FOUR things that you can feel in contact with your body.

For example; your watch against your wrist, your trousers against your legs, your feet on the ground, or your back against the chair.

Note them out loud or in your head, and rest your attention with each sensation for a few deep breaths.

3. The HEARING Phase – 5 Senses Countdown

The next step in the five senes countdown utilizes our hearing.
First, breathe deeply as you bring attention to your ears.

Then, listen carefully and notice THREE things that you can hear.

For instance: the sound of the wind, birds chirping outside, the hum of appliances, cars running, etc.

Listen and notice things in the background that you normally wouldn’t pay any attention to. As you listen to each sound, note the unique characteristics of the different tones and patterns.

4. The SMELL Phase – 5 Senses Countdown

As you take another deep breath, concentrate on the air going through your nostrils.
The next phase in the 5 senses countdown focuses on smell.

Notice TWO things you can smell.

Bring attention to scents that you usually filter out, either pleasant or unpleasant. Catch a whiff of the pine trees outside, food cooking in the kitchen, or the smell of your clothes. Note the different characteristics of these scents.

5. The TASTE Phase – 5 Senses Countdown

Take a final deep breath and bring your attention to the tongue.
The last step in the 5 senses countdown will focus on taste.

Notice ONE thing you can taste.

Take a sip of a drink, chew gum, or nibble on a piece of chocolate. If you don’t have anything in hand, notice the current taste in your mouth or taste the air against your tongue.

Concentrate and savor that one flavor.

Reduce Stress in a Way that Works for You

The goal is to use our 5 senses to focus on the present environment instead of our thoughts. Consequently, this activity helps to ground us and relieve anxiety. By the time most people reach the ‘taste phase’, their overwhelming emotions will fade away. This doesn’t mean the negative feelings are gone, but we do get a break from it taking over our minds. It’s human nature to worry and feel anxiety about the past and future. Therefore, bringing our attention to the present can relieve us from these thoughts and help reduce anxiety. Appreciating the ‘now’ and ‘present’ is a great way to enjoy life. Even more, what better way to celebrate our current existence than with our 5 senses!

However, there are still many different ways to instantly relieve stress. Perhaps you are looking for a more long-term solution in stress management, rather than an instant stress reliever. In that case, check out how you can better learn to control your emotions through “emotional differentiation“.

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If you’re looking for more tips on how to care for your mental health, check out some of our past blog posts!

Reference:

Harris, R. (2013). Getting Unstuck in ACT: A Clinician’s Guide to Overcoming Common Obstacles in Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (1st ed.). New Harbinger Publications.

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The Relaxing Effects of Scents

Maintaining Focus

Scents can be effective in situations where concentration is required. In a study of scent stimulation and its effects, participants were asked to perform a series of simplistic tasks. As a result, participants exposed to scents showed a tendency of time reduction on subsequent task engagements. Repetition of monotonous tasks usually reduce concentration in participants, but the scent was believed to help restore this concentration.

In the same experiment, results also showed that scents helped with drowsiness during tasks. From these results, some believe that scented car fresheners are useful for long-distance drives where drowsiness is easily induced due to the unchanging landscape. Smelling a scent helps us recover from fatigue and prevents us from falling asleep.

Scents Can Improve Our Quality of Life

In addition, scents have been shown to improve mental health. As an example, let’s look at a study of Japanese university students. In this study, students who often used the Student Counseling Room were asked to smell their favorite scent every morning for a week. Researchers investigated the subsequent changes in their quality of life and mental health.

Prior to the study, these students who used the counseling room had the tendency of poor quality sleep, less physical activity, and more anxiety than those who did not use the counseling room. In addition, their mental health and life quality tended to score lower. However, through this experiment, these characteristics continued to improve until there was no quantifiable difference between them and the students who did not typically use the counseling room. It’s amazing how much change occurs when we simply smell a scent that we favor.

Once a Day is All You Need

What’s interesting about the study mentioned above is not just the effect of the scent itself. The key point here is that they were only asked to smell their favorite scent once a day in the morning for a week, yet it produced more than one benefit.

We could use an aroma diffuser or light an aroma candle at home to fill the room with your favorite scent, but this can be unexpectedly tedious, and we might forget some days. What we can do is transfer our favorite aroma into a portable spray bottle for an easy and effortless alternative to carry around.

Different Scents for Different Occasions

Citrus for Stress Reduction

Citrus scents, such as lemon and grapefruit can be refreshing. They also help reduce stress and improve mood. In one experiment, grapefruit scents were presented to subjects who felt stressed after performing a simple task. Researchers measured the participants’ stress levels based on the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI), and found that their anxiety decreased more than before they had performed the task (Figure 1 below). It is likely that grapefruit had an effect on the reduction of anxiety. Similarly, it also had an effect of increased relaxation.

If you are someone who gets nervous before a presentation or meeting, smelling citrus-based fragrances may help you feel a little more relaxed.

Lavender for Improved Focus

Lavender is recommended when we struggle to keep our focus. In a study that utilized lavender scents, it was shown to improve work efficiency and reduce mistakes. Lavender scent activates the parasympathetic nervous system, thus improving concentration.

In addition, lavender fragrance is proven effective even when the scent is very faint. While lavendar could help improve our concentration, keep in mind that wearing too much perfume can cause discomfort to those around us who are sensitive to smell . A little goes a long way!

Image：Unsplash
References：

Haga, S., & Masuda, T. (2008). A Psychological Stufy on the Effect of Scent on Arousal. Japan Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 44(Supplement). doi: 10.14874/jergo.44spl.0.340.0

Yoshikawa, H., & Adachi, Y. (2018). Prospective Study of Fragrance Effect in Mental Health of University Students (1). The 82nd Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association, 281.

Muramatsu, H., Mori, C., Nagasawa, Y., & Fukuzawa, H. (2000). Effect of Smell of Grapefruit on Mental Task. Bulletin of Yamanashi Medical College 17, 42-47. doi: 10.34429/00000696

Kuwagaki, A., & Goto, K. (2017). The Relationship Between Low Concentration Lavender and Attention Maintenance. The Annals of the Hokkaido Psychological Society 40(0), 22-22. doi: 10.20654/hps.40.0_22

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