Most people know about our five senses…but did you know we actually have eight?
There are three senses that aren’t as well known: proprioception, vestibular and interoception.
Our proprioceptive sense helps us to identify where we are in space. For example, it will help us navigate our way across a room. Our vestibular sense helps us to measure our movement and balance, it will tell us if we are moving in a lift or if we are stood up or sat down. Finally, our interoceptive sense helps us understand our internal feelings, such as feeling hungry or experiencing pain.
All of our senses work together through our sensory processing system to keep our body regulated, and this is known as sensory regulation. If a child or adult struggles with sensory processing disorder, or regulation, this could have a huge impact on their ability to settle or remain asleep.
Imagine being over-sensitive to touch. How do you think it may feel if you struggle to have clothing or bed covers touching and tickling you in the night?
Now imagine you were very sensitive to noise, and every little noise disturbed you… how do you think this may impact on your ability to stay asleep?
Finally, what if you had very poor proprioceptive senses, and big open spaces, like a large bed where you couldn’t feel the end felt overwhelming to you?
When considering if the bedroom environment meets your child’s sensory needs, you should consider the following:
- Is it calming/regulating for the child? Consider how cluttered it is, the colour scheme and the furniture in there
- Reduce external noises. Think about if the room faces a main road or if there may be noises such as the boiler switching on
- White noise – this will help disguise other unpredictable noises if your child is sensitive to these
- Consider the rooms lighting. Are blackout blinds used? Is a low level night light needed?
- Sheets and blankets – make sure these are comfortable and provide the level of pressure needed
- Positive sleep associations – does your child have a favourite teddy or blanket that provides comfort for them?
- Check how hot or cold the room is. 16-18 degrees Celsius is the ideal bedroom temperature
There are also lots of calming activities that you can consider in the run up to bedtime which will help regulate your child and prepare them for bed such as:
- Story time. Evenings are the perfect time to introduce regular cuddles and reading with your child. They provide a great bonding opportunity and can help with sensory regulation
- Fine motor skills activities such as threading. jigsaws or colouring
- Relaxation or guided meditation activities – kids’ yoga and mindfulness apps, videos or audio books great for this!
- Massage using light or deep pressure, by hand or using massage tools
- Calming music or audio books or podcasts
Always try to dim the lights, turn screens off and use lower, softer voices as bedtime approaches, to provide important cues to your child that bedtime is approaching.