Do you have time for a Massage?

 

Do you have time for a massage?

While researching this, we came across a German physiologist called Karl von Vierordt, who lived 1818-1884:

 

He developed what has come to be known as Vierordt’s Law: a short duration of time tends to be overestimated, e.g. ‘you’ve only 5 minutes left in this short massage session’, while a long duration of time tends to be underestimated, e.g. ‘you’ve still got 30 minutes left in this long massage session’.

This relates to the duration we perceive or estimate in doing something, compared to the actual duration in doing it. It can also vary depending on how easy or difficult a task may be, e.g. ‘that’s a snip, it will take me 5 minutes’, when it may take more time actually; and ‘that’s a whole lot of work, it will take me hours’, when it may take us less time actually.

We may find, as in massage, that time goes quickly when we’re enjoying ourselves, as the saying goes, and we may find things ‘easy’ in this case. 

Yet we may have a treatment such as a Sports Massage requiring more pressure and which may be uncomfortable. We may not enjoy this as such though it will be beneficial, even if we find it ‘difficult’ and the time may seem to go slowly. 

Vierordt was involved with medicine, and created the sphygmograph: 

This is a contraption used to estimate blood pressure. It is taken to be the forerunner of the modern sphygmomanometer: 

Come and have a massage or other treatment. Whatever amount of time you may book. It will, we trust, be time well spent.

 

How do your Senses improve a Massage?

 

We shall use our senses in massage or other treatments, as well as using them wherever we are and whatever we are doing.

This is not a repeat of the blog of 31 August 2021: ‘Just A Minute. Or Two’, though it could be sub-titled ‘Just A Minutiae’. In some psychological and medical research it was found that our sense of hearing causes the fastest response time in humans. 

Then it is the senses of sight and touch, followed by the senses of taste and smell being the slowest response times. It is minutiae and splitting hairs terribly, as our reaction time with any of the senses is less than one second. One could think of Internet searches, and about 5 million results found in 0.65 seconds, for example. By the way, you will find Daniel’s massage services at the top of the list hopefully!

The sense of touch is often the most recognised sense in massage or other treatments, though all the senses may be involved in varying degrees. So taking the order of the ‘speed’ of senses as above, we may not, and need not, experience each of them in this exact order. 

As an example, whether hypothetical, or real, we may first sense any background music that we may have in a massage. Then actually see the masseur and the surroundings, and experience touch. Though of course we shall see the masseur firstly, upon our arrival. 

Then use senses of smell with any fragrant candles, oils, etc, and possibly taste, in having a glass of water, if water has any taste!

As I said earlier, with the reaction times of our senses, we react to each of them within one second. You won’t need a stop-watch measuring hundredths of a second, nor even whole seconds, to time your sense reactions! Well, not unless you are counting every second of your appointment time. That’s extending the blog of 31 August 2021 a bit (as above), but going to extremes.

 A lot of it happens subconsciously. You won’t be fiddling with watches, but having enjoyable massage or other treatment as you choose.