Life Matters

What's up with that?

By Linda Petersen
Posted 5/16/18

Last night's sleep was blissful, but laying in that quiet time just before getting up, my foot started shaking back and forth in a rhythmic motion. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle back and forth as my brain awakened for the day. What's up with that?

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Life Matters

What's up with that?

Posted

Last night’s sleep was blissful, but laying in that quiet time just before getting up, my foot started shaking back and forth in a rhythmic motion. Wiggle, wiggle, wiggle, wiggle back and forth as my brain awakened for the day. What’s up with that?

Driving to the doctor’s office, foot firmly planted on the gas pedal, my fingers mysteriously did a little dance on the steering wheel. There was no music on, but all ten of them danced rhythmically. What’s up with that?

Later, having lunch at Applebee’s, the customers at the adjoining table ordered steak fajitas. The aroma from the sizzling pan of seasoned steak wafted towards me, and memories of my deceased mom flooded my mind. She used to love sharing fajitas with me, only she would take all of the meat, leaving me with the accompaniments to put into my shell. How I missed that time of annoyance. I would gladly give her all of my meat and more were she still alive.

I have come to realize that we are all sensory beings. Not with a sensory disorder such as my son, Steven, born addicted to cocaine and other drugs. When he was younger, everything bothered his senses; just walking into a room with daylight blinded him, the feel of the slight breeze outside pounded at his skin, soft noises sounded like booming drums, textures of different foods would make him gag, and making eye contact with anyone was too emotionally overwhelming. To some extent, sensory issues can affect all of us.

As demonstrated by my experience at Applebee’s, scents can elicit happy memories. It is a well-documented fact that casinos use scent to get people to stay and gamble longer. The scent of coconut, for instance, conjures images of tropical vacations, makes people happier and more willing to stay longer and spend money on gambling. Many grocery stores have their bakeries in the front as customers enter, spewing the aroma of chocolate chip cookies. Often the produce is in the front, emitting the citrus smell of oranges and lemons. (Who doesn’t love lemonade, reminiscent of enjoyable times in the summer?)

Without us realizing it, the sense of sight can also affect the way we feel. The new Dave’s Marketplaces, with 3-D Murals of quaint villages, brings out pleasant nostalgia for the way small towns used to be. Cheery decorations in the mall encourage happiness, and therefore gleefully spending more money. The quiet décor of the waiting rooms in doctor offices provides calming reassurance that everything is going to be okay.

The one sense not commonly referred to is the sense of touch/movement. That is where my wiggling foot and dancing fingers come into the equation as unconscious tension relieving. This is the sense where rocking babies are quieted and the moods of children playing on swings are uplifted. People on trampolines cannot help but explode in laughter, and joggers often report that running affects their stress level. Chewing gum works the jaws, providing calmness for the rest of the body, especially after the flavor is long gone.

If, at a work meeting, one’s foot shakes under the table, take comfort in the fact that stress is being minimized by working its way down from the overactive brain, through the tense muscles in the body, through the stomach that may be in disarray, and out the wriggling foot. Just like a swinging child, one’s mood can be lifted. Or, as my wriggling foot awakens me in the morning, a whole new day is about to begin.

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