Spiderman is an iconic Marvel comic character that most of us are familiar with. His ability to be more aware of his surroundings after being bitten by a radioactive spider gave him his super powers, along with his ability to heal faster, and shoot spider webs out of his arm! We may not be able to develop super powers from spider bites, but there are ways to help improve your body’s senses and in turn make your body healthier.

Our sensory nervous system is an intricate part of how we interpret what is happening in the world around us. It allows us to adapt and adjust to our environment ensuring we stay healthy and protected. Often we take our senses for granted but if you lose a part of your senses it is very traumatic and life changing. If you woke up one day and could not see think about how your life would be altered. Or if you lost your sense of taste think how much less enjoyable your favorite meal would be.

Our sensory nervous system includes our sight, taste, touch, smell, and hearing. However we often refer to our “sixth sense”, which could be correlated to “spidey senses” too. Ever had that “gut feeling” that you wish you had listened to, or were thankful that you did. That gut feeling is a perception about a situation that causes a visceral response. It often is referred to in situations that involve interactions with other people, whether it is a business deal or a conversation with a stranger. Our bodies are programed to evaluate the signals that we are getting from one another. Subtle characteristics like body language, eye contact, even how a person smells send signals to us that help us interpret what a person is trying to communicate. Sometimes a person may be communicating something with their body that they are not communicating with their words.

In our gut we have neurological connections that are designed to help our body communicate. A very fascinating fact is that one of the bodies most important neurotransmitters, serotonin, is found in significantly high quantities there. Serotonin is a feel good neurotransmitter that helps with mood and feelings of well-being. The importance of serotonin has been a hot topic of scientific research and many classes of anti-depressants deal specifically with serotonin. One way to make sure that your body has enough serotonin is to make sure that you have a healthy gut. The proper gut flora like acidophilus is what allows your body to make the serotonin. Many people with depression or mood disorders actually have digestion issues that have caused those problems in the first place. If you have a healthy gut you will have a much healthier brain, stronger neurological connections, and more reliable “gut feelings” for you to listen to.

Now Spiderman wasn’t just known for his spidey senses, he was also very strong and nimble as he flew through the air swinging on his spider webs and was able to balance high on precarious structures like the tops of buildings or bridges. Balance and proprioception, which is the body’s ability to locate itself in space, is another sense that is very important to our long-term health and helps keep us safe in our ever dynamic, fast paced world.

Having good proprioception is a must for your cat like reflexes. When you see a child about to fall over and possibly hit their head and you react to catch them before they fall you are using your sensory nervous system to evaluate a dangerous situation and then have your body act accordingly to protect the child. This is made possible by proprioception as your brain tells you about how you are balanced and how you have to move to get to the child in time before they fall. The faster your brain is able to process the information about your environment the faster it can react.

Training your body’s proprioception is easier than you may think and has substantial impacts on the health of your nervous system. The key to proprioception is balance. This can be trained as easily as standing on one foot and see how long you can hold your balance. As balancing on one foot becomes easier try it with your eyes closed. Taking away visual stimulus makes balancing harder and is great for training your nervous system. After you have mastered one legged balance, you will want to move on to balancing on unstable surfaces; a wobble board or foam mat can be a great next step, and again progress with eyes open, then eyes closed, and then one foot at a time.

Along with your balance you also want to work on your hand eye coordination. If you have children or grandchildren this is easy, all you need is to go out and play a game of catch. Any object will work like a baseball, football, or frisbee. If you don’t have your own children or grandchildren borrow someone else’s, their parents would be happy to have them expend the energy and a game of catch is good for their nervous systems too! If you are really having trouble finding anyone to play with, practice juggling. Start with soft objects before progressing to knives and burning torches, but juggling is an excellent training tool for your nervous system, and as you get good try juggling while you are practicing your balance.

Keeping your sensory nervous system healthy is a major key to having a long enjoyable life. The better you can perceive the world the easier it is to adapt to the ever changing challenges that come your way.

Dr. Phil Cameron DC is the owner of the Bozeman Wellness Center. He is a Chiropractic Physician and Professional Applied Kinesiologist. He Treats every patient as an individual and strives to help each patient Live Healthy, Live Naturally, and Live Optimally.
Visit www.bozemanwellnesscenter.com for more information.