While many still view sensory challenges and overload as something that occurs in ‘childhood’ this couldn’t be further from the truth. We ALL have a sensory system regards of age that we need to ‘feed’ every day, so it makes sense that adults can also become ‘sensorily dysregulated’. Like a young person, sensory overload can look and feel very different (we are all unique so dysregulation will also be unique!)
The likelihood is that an adult would have found ways to manage these overloads or may not even be aware that their sensory system and it’s needs. This could be interrupted as ‘I’m just feeling stressed’, ‘anger for not apparent reason’ or reliance on unhelpful coping mechanisms like alcohol, drugs, physical aggression and self-harming. It is also important to remember that there may be many other factors that are leading someone to engage in these types of behaviours, not just sensory overload.
Sensory overload in adults could be the result of fast-paced, challenging, and competitive work and family demands. As adults with responsibilities, demands and expectations on us, it can even be harder to access and meet our own needs to help calm our nervous system down by going to a quiet place or taking a deep breath before losing our cool. When was the last time you “lost your cool”? Can you remember what triggered this? Maybe there was too much auditory (sound) demands in the environment? Or that woolly jumper / uniform you wore has felt so itchy but you haven’t been able to take off yet your boss is still expecting you to get your reports down, but all you can focus on is the tactile input from that jumper / uniform. Due to the competing demands this sends your body into a flight / flight / freeze response causing sensory overload.
Another example might be visual sensory overload: walking into your house after a busy day at work and your child’s toys are all over the floor, the dishes are piled in the sink, even more dishes clutter the counters and the table, the dog is being chased around the living room by your child – it’s so much visual stimuli that your brain gets overloaded and cannot successfully process everything that is being seen.
I could carry on with examples and I am sure you have your own that you can relate too!
We will all have different sensory needs and many of us will be over responsive in some systems but under responsive in others. For example, you might get car sickness (over-responsive to vestibular input) while at the same time you do not notice when the house is messy (under-responsive to visual input).
OVER RESPONSIVE = you only need a small amount of that specific input and potentially the ‘normal’ amount may be TOO MUCH input for you.
UNDER RESPONSIVE = you need MORE of that specific input to feel regulated.
The only sense where is very rare to be over responsive to, is our PROPRIOCEPTIVE sense. This is because or proprioception sense is regarded as our ‘calming sense’ meaning that this type of input is shown to calm our nervous system DOWN.
If you suspect that you have been experiencing sensory overload, take some time to look at your situation and identify exactly what sensory input, what situations, are causing you to feel sensory overload. That is the first step – identify WHAT is causing you to go into a fight or flight response, and WHY it’s happening.
Meeting your sensory needs will ultimately help you understand your sensory system better but will also help you self-regulate when you feel sensory overload!
As an adult experiencing sensory overload, it’s important to remember that you can take steps to help your nervous system feel calmer and more regulated.
Strategies
So what do we mean by “meeting your sensory needs”? Essentially you are providing your body and your brain with the required amount of sensory stimulation throughout the day so that you can feel calm and regulated.
Get to know your own sensory preferences
First you need to know what your sensory needs are and if you are a seeker or avoider. Ask yourself these questions:
- Do you love to move fast, or do you prefer calm activities?
- Do you enjoy chewing gum and eating spicy food or do you prefer softer textures?
- Do you fidget constantly, or do you seek natural light?
If you love to move fast, make sure you include fast walks or running into your day. If you love to chew gum and/or eat spicy food, make sure you’re including those into your daily routine. If you fidget constantly, incorporate more heavy work into your day and provide ways to fidget to help you focus. If you seek natural light, go for a walk outside every day!
By meeting your sensory needs this will ultimately help you understand your sensory system better, but also promote better physical and mental / emotional health.
Proprioception
Proprioception is a GREAT strategy to use when you feel sensory overload and need some calm in your nervous system!
Some ways to incorporate proprioception into your daily routine:
- Heavy work – things like lifting weights or running
- Using a weighted blanket to sleep or a weighted lap pad during seated tasks
- Chewing gum or eating resistive foods (provides heavy work to your mouth!)
- Wall or chair push ups
- Swimming
- Making yourself heavy with a ruck sack / clothing
- Carrying loads
- Stretching
- Yoga
- Lifting weights – slow and gently
- Get a massage
- Take a bath
- Have someone give you a bear hug
- Wear compression clothing
If you find that proprioception helps you feel calm and regulated, always complete a proprioceptive task BEFORE you go into a situation that causes you to feel sensory overload, DURING if possible and AFTERWARDS. This will certainly help to calm that nervous system.
Get Outside
When we are inside these environments can be so over stimulating lights, noise, lots of visuals on the walls, sitting down for long periods of time.
There is quite a bit of research that shows the immense benefits of getting outside. The natural lighting, noises from the wind, the birds, the trees, walking and getting the blood flowing through our bodies, and fresh air. Movement throughout the day prepares your body for sleep!!
Try to include a walk in your daily routine. Even a quick 5-minute walk around the block can work wonders on the nervous system!
Better Sleep Routine
We know the importance of sleep for babies and children as this is the key time that new neuropathways are made and where they make sense of the experiences they have encountered during the day. So it won’t be surprising that sleep for adults is just as important as this allows our brain to recover from everything it went through during waking hours…..along with our body! If we don’t get enough quality sleep, then we are making ourselves vulnerable sensory overload more often!
If we are sleep deprived then your body and brain are in a higher state of stress, so add a sensory stressful situation and boom it is the perfect cocktail for sensory overload to occur!
- Make it a priority to get good quality sleep as much as possible. Life does happen and this isn’t always possible but as much as possible prioritise sleep.
- Reduce screens before bed, however for some people this can help them to wind down. So do what works for you.
- Try to not eat 1-2 hours before bed
- Dim the lights, use blue light blocking glasses, or change your lights so that in the evening, you aren’t exposed to a lot of artificial light (which cues your brain that it’s time to be awake)
- Include more proprioceptive activities in the evening and throughout the day
- Try listening to rhythmic sounds, like waves, rain or even repetitive sounds can work well.
Check Your Food
We can get sensory input from the foods that we eat … yes really!
If you like spicey foods or chewing gum than make sure you add this more into your daily routine. Other ways to ‘eat sensorily’ include:
- Cruncy foods – carrot sticks, crisps, bread sticks are great to increase that proprioceptive input
- Infusing hot water to drink as teas can alert or calm us depending on what our brain and body need.
In-The-Moment Strategies
While you want to set up strategies proactively throughout your day, it’s also important to have strategies available for in-the-moment – easier said than done in some cases but so important to reduce the sensory overload.
Everyone will need different in the moment strategies and sometimes a strategy might work one day but not the next, that’s ok! Like most things it will be a case of trial and error, but you will soon find what works for you.
For example, if you experience vestibular sensory overload, which causes you to feel nauseous during car rides, use proprioception-based tasks prior to getting in the car but also while travelling you could:
Remember that strategies are based on your specific sensory needs and what is causing your sensory overload in different situations.
Set Limits
Advocating for our sensory needs can have a huge positive impact for us. Just because you may be over responsive to visual input / noise etc doesn’t mean you can’t attend the party, a family even or work do.
While incorporating some proprioceptive base strategies, set yourself some limits on how long you stay or take several small mini breaks out of that environment. You might say that you are only staying for a set time.
Visual Schedules / Aids
Visual aids are not just for children and can really help to lower the demand we have to remember what are doing and if applicable what other dependents needs are too. If visual are too much information for, set reminder on a certain home device, on your phone or allocate cert ain jobs to one person so you know what you only need to focus on.
Adults, just as much as children can experience extreme sensory discomfort and overload. For adults this is often on top of trying to meet other people’s needs as well and often we end up neglecting ourselves.