How to Implement a Sensory Diet: Hold the Lettuce, Add the Trampoline

Diets usually conjure up images of unpleasant experiences high on vegetables and low on dessert. However, a sensory diet is a completely different type of diet that has nothing to do with food and everything to do with helping you feel happy and in-sync.

Individuals with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) can greatly benefit from utilizing a sensory diet, but even those without SPD are helped by regulating the senses. A sensory diet is a way of intentionally scheduling input to the internal and external senses.  

The first step to creating a sensory diet is to determine what type of sensory input your body craves and avoids. For example, do you chew the ends of pencils, tap your feet, hate harsh lights, or prefer quiet rooms? All of these are examples of seeking or avoiding sensory input.

Next, experiment with different types of input until you find the diet that feels right for you. For visual input try watching a lava lamp, looking at images of nature or loved ones, avoiding fluorescent lights, minimizing prints, or decorating in a monochromatic theme.

For auditory input you may benefit from noise cancelling headphones, humming, listening to music, nature sounds, or playing an instrument. You may also try whispering, whistling, singing, white noise machines, whisper phones, observing silence, or therapeutic listening programs.

To engage the sense of smell, try perfumes, scented lotions, essential oils, scented satchels or necklaces, flowers, spices, or coffee. Engage the sense of taste by exploring different flavors and temperatures, chewing gum, eating candy, using a “chewy” fidget, or using a straw.

Engage the sense of touch through massage, back scratches, baths, exploring fabric textures, finger painting, fidgets, therapeutic brushing, gardening, slime or putty. Deep pressure is a type of touch accessible by jumping on crash pads, bear hugs, and carrying a heavy bag.

Proprioception targets the sense of muscle movement. Input includes running, walking, commando crawling, dancing, animal walks, push ups, wall climbs, and climbing up a slide. Input can also be found from sports, monkey bars, trampolines, yoga, gymnastics, and swimming.

Our vestibular sense tells us about the position of our body. Input can be similar to, and even overlap with, proprioceptive input. It can include rocking, spinning, climbing, hanging upside down, yoga, dancing, roller coasters, swinging, slides, and rolling down a hill.

Implementing a sensory diet is simple—just experiment until you find the activities that help you, and then make them part of your schedule. Doing so can result in increased attention span, higher tolerance for difficult sensations, improved alertness, and lowered stress.