VESTIBULAR INPUT
Why motion might help babies fall asleep (and stay asleep)
We know all about the five senses: touch, taste, sight, smell, and hearing.
But did you know we actually have eight senses?
In addition to the above, we also have a vestibular sense, proprioceptive sense, and interoceptive sense. When these systems are well supported, the nervous system is at ease and the body is in a state of homeostasis.
Essentially, we feel calm.
The vestibular sense might be the one you know best, though maybe in different words. This sense is located in our inner ear and is about movement (specifically, movement of the head). Our vestibular sense is closely connected to balance, coordination, and our ability to center ourselves against gravity. When this sense is processing information well and getting its needs met, we have a good sense of body awareness and coordination.
What is vestibular input?
Vestibular input refers to different activities we engage in that activate our vestibular system. When we are meeting our needs for vestibular input, our nervous system feels calm as a result.
There are specific types of movement that activate this sense - repetitive (or back and forth) movement and spinning movements. So things like swinging back and forth, bouncing up and down, walking at a rhythmic pace, spinning in circles… even sliding, rolling, and jumping can all be forms of vestibular input.
Interestingly, our vestibular sense is also activated from being upside down (or any position where the head is lower than the feet). Things like sliding head first, being tipped downwards, flipped upside down, doing ‘wheelbarrow walks’, or being rolled over a yoga ball headfirst all provide vestibular input.
What does any of this have to do with sleep?
Our little ones’ sensory system is closely linked to their nervous system, and finding ways to “activate” this sense regularly and frequently throughout the day can have a very calming effect on our child. Committing to just a few minutes of sensory activities every couple of hours can go a long way in helping our babies’ and toddlers’ nervous systems feel regulated, and a regulated nervous system is something we need for sleep.
When a person isn’t getting enough sensory input, or there’s a mismatch between the sensory input they need and the sensory experiences they’re getting, it can cause their insides to feel all jittery and frantic. And naturally, jittery and frantic aren’t very conducive to sleep.
Think about different ways you can incorporate vestibular input into your child’s day. If you have a baby who needs movement to fall asleep and stay asleep, bouncing on a yoga ball while you sing songs or ‘flying them through the air’ during their awake time can help ease their need for it while sleeping. For toddlers and older children, playgrounds are a haven of vestibular opportunities, and a trip before their nap or bedtime can help them find sleep easier.
How to use vestibular input for better sleep
Remember, our experiences accumulate throughout the day. This can help explain why, by the time early evening rolls around, so many babies and toddlers experience what is often referred to as the “witching hour.”
Their brains are exhausted from all the stimuli they've had to take in and process. When you add in hungry and tired, you've got the perfect storm and our little ones are often fussy, overwhelmed and hard to settle.
To help our children through this time, we can work to reduce stimuli that are inherently taxing on the nervous system. Turn off TV or other loud noises that might be playing in the background, and increase things that inherently help bring the nervous system back into balance - like vestibular input!
Spinning toddlers around while you dance, rough and tumble play where you flip your little ones upside down, or just walking and bouncing your baby around the house can all help.
Note that it’s important to respect what a child is telling – or showing – us about their sensory preferences. Start slow and read their cues. If they don’t like something or we notice they’re more dysregulated afterwards, it might not be the best activity for them right now.
If naps and bedtime take forever, sensory needs is definitely one piece of the sleep puzzle to consider! Stay tuned for more on the proprioceptive and interoceptive senses and how we can work with these systems to support sleep.
What makes my approach different:
The whole gist behind most sleep training programs is that you have to follow their rules for it to work… even if it feels awful.
That’s not what we do here. I will never ask you to do anything that goes against your intuition.
You’re the expert, and you get to call the shots.
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