[Namsan Ddalggakbari] How to Become a ‘Sensory’ Person for Better Moments

[Asia Economy Reporter Seomideum] In the south of France, leisurely spending a vacation and having the French dish steak frites?steak with French fries?for lunch. At this moment, a waiter brings chilled ros? wine in a ceramic bottle. The taste is amazing. The price is only 2 euros. You can't help but buy more. You buy several bottles, return home, invite friends, and throw a party. But the taste is not the same. Did it spoil during transport? No. Russell Jones, an expert in sensory science and author of the book How to Use Your Senses for a Better Day, says it’s “just your mood.” “The relaxed feeling of warming your body in the late afternoon sun of Provence and now are completely different,” he says. “The sounds, scents, and colors around you that helped create that wonderful memory are not here. The environment and emotions at that time are the factors that make the wine taste so good.”

So, is there a way to revive that taste? It is possible. “If you can recreate the sensory environment that reminds you of that time, the taste may return.” Lighting a lavender-scented candle to emit the aroma you smelled then is one method. Laying a red and white checkered tablecloth on the table or listening to lively chatter in French is also good.

“We are not thinking machines that feel emotions, but emotional machines that think.” ? From the book Descartes’ Error by American neuroscientist Antonio Damasio. The author borrows this to say, “Humans think of themselves as rational beings who deliberate and make wise decisions, but that is not true. We are machines of emotion,” and “We first make decisions based on emotions and then rationalize them. And what influences those emotions is the senses.”

The author introduces ways and evidence to spend better moments using the senses. For example, if you want to boost confidence, wear perfume. According to a study conducted at the University of Liverpool with 35 students, the experimental group was given deodorant and asked to use it daily. Half of them received deodorant with no scent or deodorizing ingredients. A few days later, their videos were shown to women to measure attractiveness. The result was that men who wore real deodorant were rated more attractive. This applied equally to women. The author explains, “Whatever the motivation for spraying something on your body in the morning, wearing perfume has an incredible effect that lasts all day for both the wearer and those around them.”

When waking up in the morning, soft bird sounds are better than loud alarms. According to sleep scientist Charles Czeisler, even very small sounds heard in the middle of the night affect sleep and create a low sleep state. Suddenly waking from deep sleep causes grogginess, so it is better to first lower the sleep stage and then wake up naturally. The author introduces that the best method is to start with weak light and sound that gradually increase over about 20 minutes to wake up.

Objects on the desk can also help with work. In psychology, the “priming effect” refers to how we assign specific meanings to objects based on personal experience. These assigned meanings influence our behavior and how we process information. According to research conducted at Stanford University, when people saw pictures of business-related items (such as fountain pens, briefcases, or conference tables), they exhibited much more competitive, uncooperative, and selfish attitudes than when they did not. Most people who saw business-related photos answered the quiz “c__p___tive” with “competitive.” Conversely, those who did not see such photos were more likely to choose “cooperative.” The author explains, “Having a calculator nearby helps you handle work accurately and meticulously,” and “If you can clearly assign meaning to an object, whatever it is, it can trigger the priming effect that induces thinking and behavior consistent with that meaning.”

Though it shouldn’t be necessary, if you have to appear in court, it is better to attend in the morning. This is because judges may suffer from “decision fatigue,” where after deliberating too long, they fail to make the best decision. Professors of business administration from Stanford University and Ben-Gurion University of the Negev in Israel reviewed over 1,000 court cases and found that defendants who appeared in court in the morning had a 70% higher chance of parole. In fact, people who committed the same crime but were tried at 8:50 a.m. were granted parole, while those tried at 4:25 p.m. received different outcomes.

The author details how the senses can influence various parts of the daily routine from waking up in the morning to going to bed at night. There are many noteworthy tips.

How to Use Your Senses for a Better Day | Russell Jones | Translated by Kim Dong-gyu | Sejong Books | 360 pages | 18,000 KRW

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.