Using your senses for self-care

Self-care is increasingly identified as a foundation for physical and mental health and wellbeing. It can be explained as self-directed activities a person engages in with the goal of moving towards a more optimal level of health. Self-care activities involve general daily living tasks (such as healthy eating, getting enough sleep and regular exercise) and can incorporate additional self-initiated activities that may be viewed as relaxing (yoga, meditation), pampering (massage, facial, movie) or a social outlet (date night, catching up with friends).

Self-care is important for everyone, but especially for those who:

·         experience heightened levels of stress

·         work in helping professions (such as health, welfare and education sectors)

·         care for others

Individuals who address their own self-care are better equipped to support other people in meeting their needs. Diminished opportunity or ability to prioritise self-care can contribute to higher levels of burnout and compassion fatigue.

Sensory modulation is the targeted use of sensory input (touch, taste, smell, sight, sound and movement) to change how you feel, and is a fast and highly effective way of addressing self-care. Sensory modulation can turn down stress and anxiety, reduce feelings of anger and overload, or increase feelings of calm, pleasure and safety, by either adding or turning down specific sensory input. In doing this, self-care needs can be better met. Everyone’s preferences are unique, so sensory input must be specific, appropriate, individualised and meaningful. For example, one person may find reclining on the sofa in a quiet corner with a good book the best self-care for them, while others might like to do a work out at the gym or catch up with friends at a bustling restaurant.

Sensory modulation can be used in a variety of ways to promote self-care. If incorporated into daily routines, people can strive for an optimal level of sensory input to help them feel more regulated and in control. At times of distress, sensory input can be used in that moment to reduce stress and turn down intense emotions. Engaging in sensory input/activities with other people can help all parties to self sooth and calm together. This is known as co-regulation and is a very effective way of supporting everyone to develop skills in self-care.

Ways sensory input can be used as part of a person’s daily routine:

·         Use your favourite smelling soap or shower gel when showering

·         Listen to preferred music while traveling to work or preparing dinner

·         Go for a walk during your lunch break to gain movement sensory input

·         Have pot plants, flowers or pictures in your home that you enjoy looking at

·         Add favourite flavours/herbs/spices into cooking

 Ways sensory input can be used in the moment to change feelings:

·         Use a cold washer over your eyes and holding your breath to evoke the dive reflex and turn down the stress response.

·         Stretch or tense and release muscle groups to provide deep pressure stimulation, to reduce agitation or anxiety and promote calm.

·         Chew something with an intense flavour (lemon, mint, spice, chili) to help shift intense feelings in the moment or assist with focus.

·         Smell a strong and scent (lavender, eucalyptus, cinnamon) to feel more grounded and connected.

·         Squeeze or fidget with something in your hands (stress ball, elastic band) to improve attention and maintain focus.

Ways sensory input can be used to co-regulate and promote ‘collective’ self-care:

·         Sensory boxes or spaces in the classroom for students to utilise provides opportunities for self-regulation. Encourage students to create their own sensory kits.

·         Classroom sensory ‘moments’ throughout the day to support learning, assist with focus and help with transitions to new learning and tasks.

·         Sensory informed activities in aged care or other diversional/ centre based group programs

·         Push a child on a swing, or swing next to them, or help them climb a wall, balance on a beam or similar in the playground.

·         Reading with a loved one on the sofa with a throw rug on your laps.

For more information on sensory modulation, strategies to promote self-care, co-regulation, sensory kits and sensory diets, see ‘The Sensory Modulation Resource Manual’, available at:

·         www.amazon.com

·         TES teacher resources at www.tes.com

·         bookstores.

Strategies for teachers who have difficulty sleeping

Many teachers report having insomnia at some time throughout their career.  Insomnia is the experience of difficulty getting to or staying asleep, and the subsequent sleep deprivation that results can further add to the stress a teacher already experiences.

When someone finds it difficult to sleep, they often also experience a degree of anxiety and/or stress. This is sometimes referred to as the ‘fight and flight’ response. The body changes that occur during the flight and fight response include an increase in heart rate, tense muscles, increased speed of thoughts and feeling jumpy/jittery. If these bodily changes become a pattern or habitual response to stress, it can prove more and more difficult for a person to recognise the signs of its onset.  An accurate predictor of a switched on ‘fight and flight’ is when the brain feels like it is ‘active and on alert’.

In order to sleep, the ‘rest and digest’ response in the body needs to be activated. This body state involves resting and relaxation of muscles and the nervous system, and a slowing down of the brain.

Relying solely on thinking strategies to stimulate ‘rest and digest’ and slow down the mind can be very difficult and not always very effective in the moment. If only it was that easy to turn down stress by thinking ‘I will now stop thinking about work and relax!’ Instead, techniques that work by relaxing the body will then in turn relax the mind and allow the brain to switch off and sleep.

Listed below are 5 strategies to try to help improve sleep, from an intervention known as Sensory Modulation. Sensory Modulation uses your senses to change how you feel.

Change how you feel: difficulty sleeping

1. Stand by bed

·         Stand by the bed in the dark, until you feel the need to sit down. Then lie back down in bed.

2. Icy water to invoke dive reflex

·         Use cold temperature to evoke the mammalian dive response. Use a cold gel pack, zip lock bag or sink filled with water or cold wet washer, place over eyes and hold breath. Note: this is contraindicated for people with heart problems or anorexia

·         This strategy is particularly useful if feeling anxious or just woken up from a nightmare

3. Change the room or the bed

·         Adjust the temperature e.g. open the windows, turn on a fan, put on a doona, cold or warm face washer, or a heat gel cream or electric hot water bottle.

·         If experiencing night sweats, try sleeping in thermals that will absorb the sweat without feeling cold. Or try a chilly towel or piece of flannel that has been wet and rung out.

·         Use a white noise machine or slow music or ear plugs.

·         Eye mask to block light.

4. Deep Pressure

·         Use a weighted cushion prior to bed

·         Do some stretches

·         Sit with your pet dog or cat on your lap

5. Swinging, Rocking

·         Hammocks, swing chairs, floating bed, in-yard swing, rocking chair before bed.

For further information on Sensory Modulation, see the book Sensory Modulation Resource Manual, available as a paperback or e-book.

‘Change how you feel series’

Five Sensory Modulation Strategies for Managing Intense Emotions and Challenging Scenarios

The ‘Change how you feel ‘series is available at TES.com as a chapter in the Sensory Modulation Resource Manual or as a PDF document of just the chapter. TES.com (search for Change how you feel series)

This series outlines a number of challenging scenarios and intense emotional states where sensory modulation may be useful to alleviate distress and enhance functioning. For each scenario, five sensory tips are suggested. Trialing these sensory tips will assist a person to get started with sensory modulation, build confidence and promote active self-management skills. As proficiency and confidence increases, additional sensory modulation strategies can be explored and included.

Many of the sensory modulation strategies suggested for each scenario will overlap and be effective for more than one emotional state, because they are strongly based on the power sensations of:

• proprioception

• vestibular

• tactile

 The ‘change how you feel ‘series includes:

Change how you feel: panic, anxiety and stress

Change how you feel: grounding

Change how you feel: anger and agitation

Change how you feel: self-harm

Change how you feel: for people with dementia

Change how you feel: enhance feelings of safety

Change how you feel: cigarette cravings

Change how you feel: pain

Change how you feel: difficulty sleeping

Change how you feel: cravings for substances

Change how you feel: waiting room design

Change how you feel: feeling numb

Change how you feel: auditory hallucinations (A.H)

It is important to always remember that all sensory modulation strategies need to be:

• Safe: emotionally and physically

• Appropriate: age, gender, culture, identity, environment, affordable

• Individualised: tailored to the persons unique preferences

• Meaningful: do they know why it is being offered? Does it make sense to them?