Proprioception Power: Deep Pressure & Heavy Work for Calm | NeurodiverseNights Blog
Have you ever found immense comfort in a tight hug, the weight of multiple blankets, or even the feeling of carrying something heavy? This isn't just about physical sensation; it's engaging your proprioceptive system – often called our "body awareness" sense. For many neurodivergent individuals, particularly those with Autism or ADHD, proprioceptive input can be incredibly grounding, organizing, and calming.
Understanding this powerful sense allows us to intentionally incorporate activities that provide "deep pressure" or "heavy work" into our routines as effective self-regulation tools, building upon ideas from our Sensory Seeking and Tactile Toolkit posts.
What is Proprioception?
Proprioception is the sense that tells you where your body parts are in space and how they are moving, without necessarily looking. Receptors in your muscles and joints send signals to your brain about body position, weight, pressure, stretch, movement, and changes in position. Strong input to this system often has a calming and organizing effect on the nervous system.
Why Deep Pressure & Heavy Work Help
- Calming Effect: Deep pressure touch (DPT) is thought to trigger the release of calming neurotransmitters like serotonin and dopamine, activating the parasympathetic nervous system (rest and digest).
- Body Awareness & Grounding: Strong input helps define body boundaries and brings awareness back into the physical self, which can be very grounding during moments of anxiety, overwhelm, or dissociation.
- Organizing Input: For brains feeling scattered or overloaded, the clear, strong signals from heavy work can help organize sensory information.
- Meets Seeking Needs: Provides intense, predictable input for those who are sensory seeking in this area.
Ways to Incorporate Proprioceptive Input Gently
Explore what feels good and safe for you:
- Weighted Items: Weighted blankets, lap pads, or stuffed animals during rest periods or wind-down routines (Sleep Props).
- Pressure: Firm hugs (if desired!), self-massage, squeezing stress balls or putty, wearing compression clothing or tight-fitting activewear.
- Heavy Work (Everyday Activities): Carrying groceries, pushing a vacuum cleaner, pulling laundry baskets, kneading dough, gardening (digging), rearranging furniture slightly.
- Resistance Activities: Stretching resistance bands, pushing against a wall, chair push-ups, gentle yoga poses that involve weight-bearing or active stretching.
- Chewing (Oral Proprioception): Chewing gum or safe chewy snacks/tools.
Listen to your body. Proprioceptive input shouldn't be painful. Notice what types of pressure or work feel calming and regulating versus potentially overstimulating. Integrating short bursts of intentional proprioceptive input throughout the day, and especially during wind-down routines, can be a powerful tool for managing energy, reducing anxiety, and finding a deeper sense of embodied calm.
Enjoyed this post? Help us create more content like this by supporting NeurodiverseNights on Patreon! Get early access to podcast episodes, bonus content, and more.
Become a Patron