Sleep and Sensory Processing: How They’re Connected

Apr 8

By Jessica Jordan, MS. OTR/L

Why Sleep Matters in Pediatric Therapy

Sleep, the activity of daily living (ADL) that children don’t always want to participate in, but parents can’t seem to get enough of it (said the exhausted mom writing this blog post). Sleep is one of the biggest activities that is discussed all throughout the life span of your infant, baby, toddler, and child’s life…especially in those early days. Remember that lovely statement, “sleep when the baby sleeps.”

The Sensory Sleep Connection

Sleep is a space where pediatric occupational therapists can hold value, as the areas of the brain controlling sleep are also closely linked to the areas of the brain that control sensory processing skills (i.e. thalamus and hypothalamus). Children with sensory regulation difficulties and children with sleep challenges both tend to have higher levels of cortisol in the brain throughout the day (Reynolds et al., 2010 and Rӓikkӧnen et al., 2010).

Cortisol, Stress, and the Nervous System

I like to think of cortisol as our body’s built in alarm system, as it helps to regulate your body's stress response. Our nervous system is broken down into two parts: the sympathetic nervous system (SNS) and the parasympathetic nervous system (PNS). Our SNS is responsible for our fight or flight response, which, when activated, signals to our adrenal cortex to release cortisol, exactly what we don’t need when we’re trying to wind down for sleep.

This made so much sense to me because, as someone who has difficulties falling asleep, I can see how much I attempt to control my sensory environment and sensory systems prior to going to sleep. This is also made sense to me why sleep training didn’t work for my youngest daughter, as her body kept going into fight or flight.

How Occupational Therapy Can Help

Occupational therapists play a role in supporting bedtime routines, creating healthy habits, and offering sensory strategies to assist your child with better sleep. Don’t hesitate to reach out to us directly at SUNRISE Therapies.

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