Noticing a little power drain in the sight and sound departments? Not to worry. Just as you can exercise to grow physically stronger, you can hone your powers of perception. No, we're not saying you can cure hearing loss or nearsightedness yourself, but there are several techniques to fine-tune your senses—all five of them. Sight. Perhaps up to 90 percent of our sensory input comes through our eyes, so it makes sense to start our workout here.

People who work at computer terminals for hours at a time often complain of blurred vision. The "fine-print sprint" can bring the world back into focus: tack a page of newsprint to a wall about eight feet from where you sit. Every twenty minutes or so, look at the newspaper. Focus on the headlines, then look at your computer screen. Do this for several times. This exercise relaxes the eyes.

Having keen eyesight means seeing as much as you can as quickly as you can. Optometrist Paul Plank recommends these speed drills: Shifting your eyes from right to left several times as fast as you can without moving your head. Make sure you focus on objects at the edges of your sight. This will help improve your peripheral perception.

Next, try to focus on ten different objects in ten seconds by scanning around the room. (This time you can move your head.) Then name the objects and the order in which you saw them. This makes your focus more flexible by training your eyes and brain to home in on and recognize things quickly, which can improve your reaction time for driving and sports.

If you are focusing on a moving object, such as a tennis ball, learn to track it with your eyes and chase it by moving your head and body. Touch your biggest sensory organ is your skin. That is why touching between a man and a woman can increase their intimacy. Letting your hands get too cold can damage nerve endings in your fingertips. So wear gloves next winter when the temperature drops. Even occasional exposure to intense cold can direct blood flow away from skin surfaces and may result in a long-lasting decrease in sensation, says dermatology expert Dr. John Wolf. Sound. Technically, you can't improve your hearing, but you can improve the way you listen, says eye, ear and throat specialist Dr. Charles Kimmelman. A good way is to shut out other sensory input competing for your attention. Next time you're watching TV, close your eyes and pay attention to the voices you hear. What are the inflections in the voices telling you about what's happening?

When people lose their sight, they pay more attention to their other senses, especially hearing. That's the point of this exercise.

Closing your eyes also helps you develop a fine critical ear, says rock critic Roger Catlin. "When listening to a CD or tape, I'll put the headset on and shut my eyes."

As an exercise, Catlin suggests trying to single out one instrument in a song—the bass guitar, for example—and follow only that instrument.

Doing these exercises regularly will allow you to perceive more detail in everyday sounds.Smell When it comes to taste and smell, our olfactory sense is more varied. Sensory researcher Charles Wysocki says, "Much of what we associate as the taste of something is really the smell of it.

Technique is everything, says perfumer Harry Fremont. As a professional "nose," he has used his highly developed sense of smell to form such colognes as CK one and Polo Sport. "Sniffing deeply doesn't give you the best appreciation of a smell. Taking several small sniffs helps you detect the notes of an aroma better."

As you sniff, keep your mouth open. "You will draw the scent into your mouth, which gives an extra dimension to the smell," Fremont says. TasteIt's really your nose that smells out flavor subtleties. Nonetheless, there are ways to enhance your ability to distinguish between the four basic tastes: sweet, sour, salty and bitter.

To help your taste buds, you can keep cleansing your palate between each course of a fine meal with cracked bread and also sips of water. That makes your stuffed herbed guinea hen taste less like the clove of roast garlic you had as an appetizer.

Don't expect to appreciate the flavor of a good meal if you're going to wolf it down. The more you chew, the more you unlock flavors in the food.

And when tasting wine, hold it under your tongue for a moment. "There are taste sensors there as well," points out William Weese, director of beverage for the Waldon Hotel in New York City.

Remember when your senses get dull and sluggish, you appear dull and sluggish, even if you're one sharp person under that hazy veil. That is all the more reason to take action now.

(Selected from Reader's Digest (Asia edition), February 1997, written by Stephen C. George)