Sensory activities such as time in nature, meditation, yoga or socializing have long been understood to be healthy activities. But therapists have not always had a scientific framework for explaining why these sensory activities promote well-being.
In his new book Better in Every Sense: How the New Science of Sensation Can Help You Reclaim Your Life (Little, Brown Spark, 2024), co-author professor Norman Farb provides this scientific framework and offers readers mental techniques and exercises to break out of unhealthy thought patterns and habits.
Editor Lauren Heuser sat down with the University of Toronto associate professor of psychology to learn more.
LH: What is Better in Every Sense about?
NF: The book is an attempt to communicate the research we’ve been doing over the past 15 years on the role of sensation in mental health. It starts with the discovery that negative moods — and especially depression — tend to shut down the sensory systems in the brain, which is not obvious to most people.
The bright side of that is if you can engage in sensory practices you might be able to restore balance to the brain’s function.
So the aim is to introduce a new science of sensation that accords with a lot of traditional health practices, but actually provides a firm scientific justification for them.
LH: You call engaging in these sensory practices “sensory foraging.” Can you give us some examples?
NF: In our book we suggest taking a notebook to the produce aisle of a grocery store. Record 10 colours and five smells you observe. Make a note of any other sensory information that grabs your attention. See whether the exercise makes you more curious about products you would typically ignore or avoid.
Another example could be eating with your non-dominant hand. What does it feel like?
LH: Your research seem to show that these external stimuli can be key to changing our thinking. Why is it so difficult to break out of negative thought patterns?
NF: We have a tendency to fall back into familiar grooves or patterns of thinking — particularly about ourselves and the world and what we see as possible and important.
These habits are both comforting and provide context, but can also be stultifying. We can become trapped when our own habits keep us comfortable enough, but ultimately unsatisfied in some way.
LH: When do some of these behaviours become problematic?
NF: If you think about anything that becomes automatic, it’s great as long as it provides an output that matches the situation. We may have learned some habits that are necessary or helpful at an earlier time of our life but which may not fit a new situation.
So, for example, you may have learned to avoid conflict because it is better to get along in a place where you don’t have a lot of power. But this could also lead to people never seeing you as a leader, which results in you getting passed over for promotions. Or you might have trouble asking for what you need in relationships.
So we have ways of getting through life that have kept us safe. But there are times where we really want something to change and our habits can prevent us from engaging with something surprising or new.
We see this most strongly in people with mood disorders, where mental habits seem to be dominating brain activity and taking over neighbouring territory that would be used for new types of planning or noticing the unexpected.
LH: What are some of the book’s core recommendations?
NF: The core recommendations are that people try on this idea of spending more time in sensory exploration and less time ruminating on problems. It can start with a couple minutes of noticing things you wouldn’t normally notice; with a willingness to be surprised.
Ultimately, you want to find something you can engage in regularly that supports sensory exploration. That can range from meditation to yoga to time in nature. Or it may involve making time to spend with friends or therapy or possibly even psychedelics.
LH: Your book notes that Maslow (famous for Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) probably never envisioned how many people in affluent, privileged positions would be stuck on the lower levels of self-actualization. What in your view accounts for this?
NF: This is more speculative, but I think culturally our education system hasn’t evolved past what’s needed to make us productive workers.
Our education system is focused on helping people regulate and control their behaviour and follow instructions. But we don’t really talk about life after, say, age 20. We don’t talk about continued development.
There isn’t an expectation that you find wholesome sources of meaning or ways of giving back to your community. The absence of a broad framework for how you explore and discover meaning is the big problem right now.
LH: There are a lot of young people struggling with mental health issues. Do you think the recommendations in this book are ones young people can also engage with?
NF: There’s a danger in thinking that our techniques are also going to take care of the lower rungs of Maslow’s hierarchy. I think there are a lot of concerns and anxieties that young people have that are on those lower rungs, such as a need for financial security or food security.
But some young people may be consumed by anxiety or worry. To the extent those are affecting quality of life, these tools are useful. Sensory foraging can be used by people of all ages.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
