Our level of alertness refers to the state of our body being either hyper-aroused, hypo-aroused, or in a ‘just right’ state of arousal for its environment. When our body is in the ‘just right’ state, we are emotionally regulated for appropriate responses. When our state of arousal doesn’t match the environment and the situation at that moment, sensory dysregulation occurs. Sensory dysregulation may result in depression and anxiety if our body is left feeling in a constant state of threat resulting in distress and discomfort. Children experiencing sensory processing disorder may grow into adults with ongoing depression and anxiety.

Our nervous systems have sensory preferences and sensitivities which impact how we respond to sensations. By feeding our body sensory experiences that feel comfortable and safe to our nervous systems, we can modify our state of arousal to feel aligned to the environment. This is a state of sensory modulation or regulation.

Sensory experiences can be scheduled into our day to help keep ourselves sensory regulated. A benefit of sensory modulation is that we experience emotion regulation naturally. This is a tool we can use intentionally to modify our mood and to prepare for the day’s changing environments and situations to enable us to stay grounded and in tune with our bodies. By increasing our body awareness and understanding of how the sensations we are experiencing in our bodies are linked to our emotions, we can learn to effectively create a state of sensory and emotion regulation.

Sensory regulation isn’t time-consuming, it is simply becoming aware of what your child’s body is feeling and then giving it comfortable sensory input that changes their level of arousal. It’s what our body needs to function at its best in all types of environments, in all situations. It is about managing what emotions your child is experiencing rather than letting these emotions rule them. And if an emotion catches them unaware, they have the necessary tools in their body’s sensory systems to modify their experience of these emotions.

Sensory regulation for emotion regulation is a natural process that can be performed unconsciously, deliberately, and incidentally during moments of need for both prevention and crisis intervention of emotion dysregulation. It has been shown to have a positive impact on mental health disorders and research shows subjects have reported greater positive outcomes from sensory regulation used to complement talk therapy before and during the therapy session.

Sensory play helps the child learn how to modulate their sensory experiences and regulate their emotions, subsequently gaining mastery of their behaviours. Confidence and self-esteem develop from their ability to emotionally regulate, growing a personal sense of value for the child or young person. Help is available to alleviate any depression and anxiety symptoms, and to experience relief from symptoms associated with possible learning difficulties, abuse, neglect, disability or disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder, Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder, and Sensory Processing Disorder.