Visual sensations
We perceive about 90% of all information in the world around us through vision. It is visual sensations that give us the most perfect and genuine perception of objects.
Visual sensations arise as a result of exposure to electromagnetic waves with a length from 390 to 780 nm on the visual analyzer. The stimulus, in the form of a high-frequency electromagnetic wave, forms an image of an object (image) on the retina of the eye, passing through the transparent cornea, tunica albuginea, choroid, iris and lens.
The retina of the eye consists of a set of photoreceptors of two types: cones (day vision) and rods (night vision). Cones provide a sense of color and shape of objects, and rods, being more sensitive elements, respond to light brightness parameters. It is worth noting that in the dark, when objects are poorly illuminated, electromagnetic waves are perceived to a greater extent by rods, and therefore the perception of the world predominates in gray shades.
The reality around us is reflected in the human mind in different colors - this happens due to the fact that visual sensations always have a color quality . The colors we perceive are divided into two groups: achromatic (white, black, gray) and chromatic (red, blue, green, etc.).
The human visual analyzer is capable of distinguishing up to 300 shades of achromatic colors and tens of thousands of chromatic colors in various combinations. Objects that uniformly reflect waves of different lengths have aromatic color. Objects that can reflect electromagnetic waves of only a certain wavelength, while absorbing other waves, have chromatic colors.
Characteristics of visual sensation processes:
- Color sensitivity of the eye. One of the characteristics of visual sensations is the color sensitivity of the eye, which is a normal distribution or Gaussian curve from 390 to 700 nm, where the maximum is 550 nm. Subjectively, a person perceives yellow and green colors more brightly, while red and blue are duller.
Color sensitivity is subject to daily fluctuations, and therefore, in the period from 13:00 to 15:00 a person perceives brighter visual sensations, and from 23:00 to 3:00 color sensitivity decreases. An interesting fact is that sound can affect the electrical sensitivity of the eye. S.V. Kravkov proved that sound increases the sensitivity of the eye to green and blue rays, and decreases it to orange and red.
- Visual acuity is characterized by the minimum distance between two objects, from which these objects do not merge into one. A person’s spatial vision threshold, which changes throughout the day, allows a person to distinguish small details of objects.
- The latent period of a visual reaction is the time interval from the moment the signal is given to the moment the sensation occurs. This parameter depends on the intensity of the signal, its significance, and the age of the individual. On average, the latent period is 160-240 ms.
- Critical flickering frequency (CFF) is the minimum frequency of discretely appearing light signals (“flashes”) at which there is a feeling of their unity. This parameter is determined by the brightness of the signal, the size of the light source and its configuration. Usually the CFM is 15-25 Hz. In this case, the inertia of vision is expressed in the lag in the appearance and disappearance of the visual sensation from the influence of a light stimulus.
In real life, a person’s visual sensations are not isolated from each other, but are in connection with other sensations. We do not see optical images in space, but perceive the bodies around us with their various sensory properties, which in turn cause certain emotional and mental reactions in humans.
However, not only holistic images of phenomena can have an impact on a person; the perception of certain colors can either excite or calm the nervous system. The effect of colors is due, on the one hand, to their direct physiological effect on the body, and on the other, to the associations that colors evoke based on previous experience. You can learn more about the influence of certain colors by studying our articles in the “Color Therapy” section.
How our food preferences and emotions are connected: what Ayurveda teaches
Read about what addiction to the six main tastes that Ayurveda distinguishes about health in the material Sobesednik.ru.
By learning to recognize the connection between food and its ability to sublimate unmet emotional needs, we will learn to make the right choices that will give us health and happiness. Do you think these are lines from scientific research? But no. This is Ayurveda. Katie Silcox, author of Healthy, Happy, Sexy, translates ancient Ayurveda into modern psychological language.
You've probably noticed how embarrassing it can be to admit that you eat emotionally, overeat, or grab food unconsciously. But the way we eat is completely inseparable from our fundamental beliefs about life. Our attitude towards food is nothing more than a mirror reflection of ideas about love, fear, anger, and the meaning of life. This is what Ayurveda teaches. And so does our daily life. There is an inextricable connection between longing and buying a box of chocolates or a packet of chips, which, if we do not notice, is only because this dependence goes deep into the subconscious, so as not to harm self-esteem and an adequate perception of one’s own “I”.
Food as the basis of life
In Ayurveda, food is considered one of the three most important pillars on which the health and full life of a person in this world is based. It is from poor nutrition that all diseases come. When we eat the “wrong” foods, eat late at night, or don’t eat enough seasonal vegetables and fruits, the balance is disrupted. In addition, food is energy in its purest form; we cannot exist without it. However, you need to eat right, in accordance with your constitution. When an irresistible craving for a particular taste arises (Ayurveda considers six basic tastes), it is worth talking about the emergence of misunderstanding. Because food essentially symbolizes nourishment and nurturing, we become saturated with it when we feel the need for security, love, and stability. This false substitution runs very deep. When we were little, perhaps no one respected our wishes. It was then that we stopped listening to our inner voice and understanding what we were really striving for, so at that moment we had an unnatural craving for this or that food that we brought with us into adulthood. Think about it: has anyone taught you to listen to your body? Understand what the body needs? Follow his signals? Tastes and food preferences formed in childhood naturally carry over into adulthood. If we are taught to eat healthy, we are more likely to continue to do so as we grow up. But if we were fed sweets for good behavior or scolded for eating something that makes us fat, most likely we will upset our nutritional balance as adults. Habits are very strong.
Digestive disorders - gas formation, constipation, heartburn and others - are a complaint of our body, which lacks love and other emotions. This is a kind of signal that certain needs are not satisfied. Our stomach may become angry and worried because we are not taking good care of ourselves. Or perhaps in this way he shows us that we are experiencing anxiety or the balance of the mind is disturbed. Digestive problems do not only arise from excessive consumption of unhealthy foods. Even when we eat healthy foods but become satiated, or eat when we are sad, stressed, and angry, it takes a toll on our body. Interestingly, Ayurveda has a recipe for each case. For example, when the mind and emotions are seething, you should calm them down, for example, with kitchari - a spicy vegetarian dish, one of the main ones in Ayurvedic cuisine - and vegetable soup.
Food cravings linked to emotions
Ancient teaching distinguishes six different categories of tastes: sweet, salty, sour, pungent, bitter and astringent. It is believed that we are drawn to a certain taste because foods that have it affect our psyche, emotions and body. Being in balance, a person experiences a craving for tastes that strengthen this balance. But if it is disrupted, we are drawn to products that become a temporary sublimation of emotions, that is, we direct them in a different direction, and as a result, this passion intensifies.
An unhealthy passion for a certain type of food indicates that we are missing something in our lives. But how can you tell “good” cravings from “bad” ones? In principle, this can be done. Having satisfied a “good” passion, we are full of energy and vitality. “Bad” temporarily sublimates one or another emotional need, but later we have a feeling that something is wrong. By analyzing our unhealthy desires, we can understand what we are lacking (on a conscious or subconscious level) and what emotional needs are not being met.
Sweet taste
Sweets are equivalent to hugs, human warmth, support. When our emotions do not find a response in the hearts of others, then we seek solace in the nearest candy store. Emotionally, when we eat sweets, we feel cared for—as if someone is caring about us. In reasonable quantities, it calms the mind and body and gives a feeling of stability. Imagine the evening after a busy day full of activities and worries. Maybe there was no one to hug you or comfort you. There was no one to touch you and say, “Everything will be okay. Everything will definitely work out. Tomorrow will be a great day." In this situation, it is completely logical that you will subconsciously feel an irresistible desire to eat in order to feel safe and cared for. However, you shouldn’t be zealous either. If you notice that the chocolate in your purse is your calling card, it's time to do something. To reduce your addiction to sweets, you should analyze your life more deeply and ask yourself the question: in what life situations do I lack sincere care, calmness, and stability? How can this be changed? You need to find rational ways to satisfy your needs.
Sour taste
This taste warms and “grounds”. Wine is an excellent example of a product with a sour (and at the same time sweet) taste, which we most often turn to when experiencing this need. From an Ayurvedic perspective, the love of wine is explained by the fact that it calms, dilates blood vessels and makes us feel connected to the earth. If we translate this into modern language, we are talking about the need for security and protection. According to Maslow's theory, this need is primary, basic. In the pyramid of needs, it is one step higher than physiological needs: food, rest, warmth. Man is a creature that gravitates toward stability, reliability, and confidence. We want fears and failures not to affect us. Abraham Maslow said that the presence of a need, in other words, a lack of something, becomes a driving motive: all human actions are aimed at satisfying the current need. This shows the connection between his theory and Ayurvedic teaching: when we feel unprotected, we strive to get rid of this feeling in all available ways. And craving for certain foods is one of these ways, a tool for restoring balance. In addition, the sour taste also helps to focus the mind. When we lack stability and concentration in life, we are drawn to sour things. An excess of this taste makes us “sour” ourselves. Imagine unripe grapes!
Salty taste
The salty taste symbolizes retention. If it seems to you that in life you are scattered, scattered and trying to do everything at once, your energy is scattered over several things, then you may want salty things. We are drawn to it if we feel like we are constantly giving and leaving nothing for ourselves. From an emotional point of view, we crave salty foods when we lack self-confidence and enthusiasm; this taste sublimates such feelings well. The problem is that even if you eat a lot of salt, it won't boost your confidence for long. Interestingly, in excess this taste awakens greed. So if you're feeling salty, ask yourself: Am I giving away too much? Where can I get strength, vigor and energy? How can I increase my sense of self-worth and enthusiasm for life?
Spicy (spicy) taste
Spicy is synonymous with drive, activity, fireworks of emotions. When we are drawn to spicy foods for emotional reasons, it is because we seek to temporarily sublimate the feelings of pleasure, excitement and excitement that it inspires. It’s not for nothing that they say “sharpness in relationships”, “piquant situation”. Even if we start from the meaning of the word “sharp” in Russian, we can see that it carries a connotation of something bright, exciting, partly dangerous, but sometimes desirable. If you constantly crave hot and spicy food, ask yourself: maybe my life is too monotonous? And I'm afraid of adventures, although in fact I'm attracted to them? Maybe it’s really time to give yourself a rest, have fun and “have a blast” to the fullest? Listen to your desires!
Bitter taste
Addiction to bitter foods due to emotional reasons is the exception rather than the rule. That's great rarity. If you suddenly discover a love for bitter things in yourself, then this may symbolize the need for some kind of cleansing, liberation, and clarification of the mind. An unhealthy tendency toward bitterness may indicate excessive self-restraint and a desire to curb an unruly ego. Followers of Ayurveda believe that the bitter taste has a deep cleansing effect and carries a signal for our “I”, which is often almost a fan of sweets, to give up pleasures for a while.
Astringent taste
The need for an astringent taste is another rare craving, but it does happen. From an emotional point of view, the astringent taste gives us a temporary immersion in ourselves. It dries and cools the body. An unhealthy passion for astringent products may indicate a desire to isolate yourself from the world and be alone. This is a signal of voluntary social isolation. And although this taste gives a temporary opportunity to collect thoughts and be alone with oneself, its excess can create an unreasonable fear of leaving a cozy shell. In such cases, a previously cheerful and active person suddenly begins to shun others, withdraws into himself, and literally becomes a sociopath. Although, of course, if one of your relatives or friends suddenly began to behave this way, then you should first of all ask not whether he likes the astringent taste of food, but try to find out if he has developed strange, unusual preferences , thoughts and ideas. A sharp limitation of social activity in combination with other specific symptoms (speech insufficiency, auditory hallucinations, delusions, focus on unimportant details, poverty of emotions) may be a manifestation of schizophrenia or schizophrenia-like disorders. However, this is, of course, an out of the ordinary case.
Freeing yourself from an unhealthy relationship with food
To break the vicious circle, you first need to have the courage to call a spade a spade. Try to write everything down. Recognize that you cannot fully enjoy food for certain reasons. And the next time you feel that inner inhibition, let it be an opportunity to shed light on your subconscious. Ask yourself, hand on heart, what you really want. You cannot satisfy your basic needs by simply filling your stomach with food.
Try the following exercise-test to understand whether you have addictions to certain types of food and, accordingly, unsatisfied emotional needs:
- Which of the six flavors are you most drawn to?
- Have you noticed a connection between what this taste gives you and your emotional needs? For example, if you want sweets, do you feel like there is not enough “sweetness” in your life?
- And if you are drawn to bitter and astringent things, doesn’t this mean that you are depriving yourself of proper care and nutrition?
When you understand yourself, you can easily give up bad eating habits, which, as a rule, not only negatively affect our inner world, but also bring with them health problems.
Read more in the book “Healthy, Happy, Sexy.”
Sensations of vibration, movement and balance
Movement is a form of reaction of the body, expressed in the movement of its individual parts or as a whole in space. Motor (kinesthetic) sensations are necessary for a person to obtain information about the current position of the body organs, as well as about the parameters of movement of the body and its parts. Receptors of motor sensations are located in the joint surfaces of the body, muscles and tendons. They are especially densely located in the fingers and toes.
Sensations of movement play a big role in a person’s life; without them, it is impossible to make precise movements of the hand, turn the head in the right direction, or take a step in a certain direction. At the same time, the development of kinesthetic sensations is important for the formation of professional skills associated with motor actions, for example, in the activities of a surgeon, musician, etc.
Correction of movements occurs on the basis of information about the position of the body and its parts, which is processed in brain structures located in the parietal region. These structures are associated with the functioning of the visual areas and the frontal lobes of the brain responsible for speech.
The state of a stable position of the body in space allows a person to function normally in the environment. This ability is achieved through a sense of balance.
The sense of balance arises on the basis of information about the position and movement of the body obtained with the help of visual, motor, vibration, skin analyzers, as well as thanks to the work of the balance mechanism located in the inner ear.
The mechanism by which a person controls the balance of his body consists of fluid-filled otolith organs, three semicircular canals and an expansion sac with receptors.
Free-floating in the liquid is a large number of tiny calcium crystals called otoliths. When the center of gravity of the human body changes or the head moves, the otoliths through the liquid increase pressure on the corresponding group of sensitive hairs located on the inner surface of the sacs and semicircular canals.
The hairs are excited, and the resulting nerve impulses enter the brain, where analytical work is carried out to understand the position of the body.
It is important to note that information about the angular movements of the body is formed mainly due to the receptors of the semicircular canals; information about linear movements - by receptors of the otolith organs. The set of receptors of both types is called the vestibular apparatus.
Information about the state of the body is perceived both consciously and unconsciously. Thus, sensations of body positions during everyday activities are not realized by a person until he himself turns his attention to how he sits or walks.
Vibration sensations appear in a person when the environment with which he is in contact fluctuates in the frequency range from 15 to 1500 Hz. It is these vibrations that are felt by the body as a whole and its individual organs. Currently, there is no single point of view on what gives rise to vibration sensations. There is an assumption that information comes either through the auditory channel or through the tactile channel. Most scientists do not distinguish this type of sensation as a separate one, considering it a consequence of other skin sensations, in particular the pressure factor quickly moving across the surface of the skin.
Vibration sensations play a special role in the lives of people whose hearing and vision are affected. This type of sensation helps them navigate their environment. It is worth noting that for an ordinary person, vibration sensations allow one to obtain important information, for example, during earthquakes, vibration sensations help to assess the situation and take the necessary actions to save lives.
