Sensehacking: How to Use the Power of Your Senses for Happi

The world expert in multisensory perception on the remarkable ways we can use our senses to lead richer lives.

How can the furniture in your home affect your wellbeing? What color clothing will help you play sports better? And what simple trick will calm you after a tense day at work?

In this revelatory book, pioneering and entertaining Oxford professor Charles Spence shows how our senses change how we think and feel, and how by 'hacking' them we can reduce stress, become more productive and be happier.

We like to think of ourselves as rational beings, and yet it's the scent of expensive face cream that removes wrinkles (temporarily), the noise of the crowd really does affect the referee's decision, and food not only tastes 10 per cent better if you use a tablecloth, you'll also eat 50 per cent more of it. By understanding our senses, we can take greater control of our lives.

Sensehacking explores how the senses are stimulated in nature, at home, in the workplace and at play. In a world where we're suffering from the sensory overload of 24-hour news cycles and also prioritizing physical distance from one another, Spence explains 'touch hunger' and shows how we can overcome it. Understanding how our senses interact can produce incredible results. This is popular science at its unbelievable best.

The world expert in multisensory perception on the remarkable ways we can use our senses to lead richer lives

'Talks total sense, lots of fun facts, right up there with the best of the best' Chris Evans

'Packed with studies on pain, attention, memory, mood' The Times

How can the furniture in your home affect your wellbeing? What colour clothing will help you play sport better? And what simple trick will calm you after a tense day at work? In this revelatory book, pioneering and entertaining Oxford professor Charles Spence shows how our senses change how we think and feel, and how by 'hacking' them we can reduce stress, become more productive and be happier.

We like to think of ourselves as rational beings, and yet it's the scent of expensive face cream that removes wrinkles (temporarily), a room actually feels warmer if you use a warmer paint colour, and the noise of the crowd really does affect the referee's decision. Understanding how our senses interact can produce incredible results. This is popular science at its unbelievable best.

'Spence does for the senses what Marie Kondo does for homes' Avery Gilbert, author of What the Nose Knows

'Everything you need to know about how to cope with the hidden sensory overload of modern life, engagingly told' Robin Dunbar, author of How Many Friends Does One Person Need?