Are you familiar with the term, and the notion, of sensory diet?

My first encounter with the term

I first heard the term used, without any accompanying explanation, several years ago. Someone in a video (a good video) was recommending how to recover from severe burnout, based primarily, I think, on her own experience. Such recovery of course is primarily a matter of time. However, she mentioned some other things, one of which was to make sure you’re getting “a good sensory diet.”

I had never heard the term before, but was delighted with it. Intuitively, it made sense. A diet is what you eat, both what and how much, and perhaps also at what time and in what manner. We aren’t talking necessarily about any special diet, such as a consciously managed weight-loss diet, but simply diet in the general sense. Well, extend that notion to the sensory stimuli and environments you encounter, inhabit, etc. That’s a “sensory diet.”

For whom does this matter?

The notion of sensory diet, and for that matter the thing itself (the actual sensory diet), may be more relevant to individuals proportionate to how “sensitive” they are. This is to say, that to a highly sensitive person, it is most relevant, while to a “lowly sensitive” person (for lack of a better work), it is comparatively less important.

That is to say, a comparatively “insensitive” person (again for lack of a better word) — and comparative insensitivity apparently is typical of full extraverts (although extravert is an imprecise notion) — may be less affected by their particular sensory diet.

In contrast, a comparatively highly sensitive person — which is apparently characteristic of introverts and autistics, among others — will be more affected by whatever sensory diet they happen to be experiencing.

At the same time, it’s too simple to say that the less sensitive are simply less affected. On the one hand, this is obviously true. On the other hand, it is likely less apparent, to the less sensitive individual, how they are affected by their usual pattern of sensory experience or stimulus. And because of that, less sensitive individuals may be less likely to tend to their sensory diet, precisely because they are less aware of it. And so conscious understanding and remembering of the concept may be important for the less sensitive person as well as for the more sensitive person.

What is it?

In any case, a sensory diet might be thought of as how much, of what quality, at what times and for how long, one experiences various sensory stimuli or environments. This includes the usual five senses, as well as the other three recognized by current science, viz. the vestibular, the proprioceptive, the interoceptive. The vestibular is involved in balance, has something to do with the inner ear, and is what makes playing on a swingset feel fun. Proprioceptive is the sense of where your body is in space and the position of the various parts of your body in relation to each other. Interoceptive is your sense of your internal organs.

By the way, I eventually discovered that the term ‘sensory diet’ is a term of art used in occupational therapy. This discovery was thanks to a wonderful article by Cynthia Kim, posted to her blog Musings of an Aspie, aptly titled Sensory Diet. You can either use the term intuitively (it is a very intuitive term), or look into its more specifically defined meaning and how it’s been applied by occupational therapists. Kim’s article should be a good place to start, and she describes those three additional senses in more detail.

How does it matter?

I find the term and the named notion very appealing. I had been thinking about the thing itself — sensory diet — quite a bit, although without having the term, when I came across it. Maybe that’s why it jumped out at me and I couldn’t forget it.

But consider: the amount of stimulation, sensory stimulation, that you experience, has a huge affect on you, whether you’re very aware of it or not. (I didn’t used to be, but I am much more aware now.)

Furthermore — and this is key — it isn’t simply the amount of stimulation, but the type, the quality, of it. Overstimulation isn’t necessarily solved by time in a dark, quiet, or whatever, space, particularly if that space has a kind of sterile feeling. Or rather, that can be part of solving it (though preferably without the sterile feeling quality).

But the other part, probably the more important part, is getting a good level of certain types, certain qualities, of sensory experience. I’m thinking of natural settings in particular. The feel, the sounds, the look, which characterize a wooded setting, a meadow, a river or body of water.

Overpowering sounds of machinery, traffic, too-loud or grating recorded music, even a noisy crowd, can — especially at the wrong time, or for too long, or too frequently — have negative effects. This isn’t simply over-stimulation, it’s poor quality stimulation. Similarly, an empty, quiet, box-shaped room (and too many rooms are like this), can be understimulating but also poor quality low stimulation.

The notion applies also to music, to food, etc. Actually, weighted blankets apply here too. I would even wager that much of the artful resting described by fellow Wise&Shine writer CrisbieCoach, in her recent post The Art of Rest, could be interpreted through the notion of sensory diet.

In any case, I lightly suggest incorporating the notion into one’s general habit of mindful awareness, or self-observation and reflection, over time. You may find it quite helpful and edifying.

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SeekerFive creates expressive photographic artwork: a few selections on Etsy at elementalexpressive.etsy.com.

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SeekerFive is gradually collecting and developing resources to aid in philosophical practice and study at philosophicadvising.com.