It’s Not Exercise, It’s My Sensory Diet

We’ve all heard the old advice: Exercise helps reduce stress. Have we every considered why that is, or what exactly constitutes exercise?

If you look up the definition of exercise you may find explanations such as: activity requiring physical effort, carried out to sustain or improve health and fitness. While this can be true, let us broaden the things we consider exercise and the reasons behind why we exercise.

First, let’s get the obvious out of the way. Exercise does not have to be specific cardio or strengthening activities like running, lifting weights, biking, or even walking.

Exercise can be anything that gets the blood flowing and provides us with sensory input like gardening, mowing the lawn, or even general cleaning.

Let’s take a moment and stop thinking of exercise as exercise. Let’s consider it our sensory diet. Want learn more about sensory diets? Check out our previous blog: What is a Sensory Diet?

Tips to Create a Sensory Diet using Exercise

Consider the sensory inputs that you enjoy. Is it proprioception? Try lifting weights, gardening, mowing the lawn. Proprioceptive input also includes body weight exercises such as push ups, planks, wall push ups, or yoga.

Do you enjoy vestibular input?

Try activities that get your head moving such as sit ups, jumping jacks, running, walking, swimming, or biking to name a few.

Maybe deep pressure input is your favorite.

Try floor based exercises like crunches, leg lifts, superman lifts, restorative yoga or regular yoga. You can include different equipment such as exercise balls, a bench, or a machine at the gym.

If you’re unclear of what vestibular, proprioceptive, and deep pressure input are, check out this blog: The Three Secret Senses

If you’re not sure, try each of them and write down how you felt after each kind of input and exercise to better track the differences in your self-regulation. You may need to try each one for a few days to provide a clearer picture of your body’s needs. If you note you feel less stressed or better able to problem solve and cope after a specific kind of exercise or sensory input, maybe that’s the type of exercise to gravitate towards. Take note of overall mood and ability to emotionally regulate and consider the effects of an exercise for a few days after. One thing I have noticed, is that I feel calmer, better focused, and experience less feelings of anxiety on days I provide myself with proprioceptive input.

Maybe a combination is the key to your self regulation. Be sure to consider what you need each day based on your schedule, the season, and your overall mood.

Include family members or friends or use it as a time to decompress alone. Have fun and try to find as much joy as possible in activities that provide the body with what it needs.

If you’re a parent, consider inviting your children to participate with you while you exercise as appropriate for their abilities.

Try giving them canned goods as weights. Demonstrate body weight exercises or yoga poses for them to try. Maybe even use them as your weights for appropriate exercises. They’ll benefit from the sensory input and may discover new sensory diet activities themselves.