YOUR AMAZING BODY

C: We are told we have five senses – sight, touch, hearing, taste and smell. But consider these – which scientists now rate as separate senses.

Proprioception:  Close your eyes and touch your nose. You ‘automatically’ know where each body part is in relation to the others. This is the sense that police officers test when they stop someone who they think has been drink-driving.

Or put your hand a few inches away from a hot iron. None of your traditional five senses can tell you that the iron will burn you. Yet you can feel that the iron is hot from a distance. This is thanks to the heat sensors in your skin.

Equilibrioception:   This sense keeps your balance and senses body movement like acceleration and changes in direction.  The sensory system for this is called the vestibular labyrinthine system and is in your inner ears.

Thirst:  This system enables your body to monitor its hydration level and tell you when you need to drink.

Hunger:  None of the conventional 5 senses monitor this – so it must be a separate sense.

Time:  Sense of time appears related to size and metabolic rate – a fly, for example, appears to see the world in ‘slow motion’ mode, which is why they are difficult to swat!

Women’s sense of smell is generally superior to men’s. But our senses do weaken as we get older. Most people have lost fifty per cent of their taste buds by the time they reach the age of sixty. Almost all experience some hearing loss after about age 70 – and high blood pressure or diabetes can contribute to accelerated hearing loss