Sensory Health: Expanding Our Thinking about Sensory Processing

We are sensing beings. Sensing is foundational to who we are as people. As Winnie Dunn so eloquently states “The experience of being human is imbedded in the sensory events of everyday life” [1]. But this does not mean that we all sense in the same way. Each person has a unique pattern of processing sensory information. These patterns of processing sensory information influence our experiences within the world. Sensations drive our likes and dislikes, habits and behaviors. For instance, why do some of us love a great cardio class at the gym and others prefer yoga? Why do some of us love horror movies and others hate them? Why do we choose one partner to spend our lives with over another? The answer is because we like or do not like how these activities or people make us FEEL. “Feeling is sensing. Sensation is not just what we see and hear but the information we get from our bodies. This information regarding the internal condition of the body is referred to as interoception. Interoception is the basis for how we recognize emotions [2]. Further, noticing the way your body feels and connecting that to an emotion is what motivates purposeful self-regulated behavior [3]. For example, if we detect the bodily signals of thirst such as dry mouth, we seek water and when we get that water, we feel satisfied. Hence, understanding our body cues, in combination with becoming aware of our own unique sensory processing styles, can aid in our well -being by supporting feelings of satisfaction, contentment and happiness.