How do fidgeting toys help decrease anxiety?
How do fidgeting toys help decrease anxiety?
Did you chew your pencils in class as a child? Maybe you twirled your hands or chewed your fingernails? It’s possible that you still display these behaviors when you’re bored or anxious.
Fidgeting is a common outward manifestation we use to cope with stress and anxiety. Those tapping fingers are a way of using movement to help our minds focus and concentrate on the task at hand. For some, the more we move, the more we are able to think, learn and boost our verbal memory.
While it is important for some to use fidgeting to raise or lower our attention levels, it is vital to those with sensory processing difficulties. People on the autistic spectrum or have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder must integrate fidgeting into their sensory diet to help self-regulate.
There are different types of self regulation tools to help us to feel calm, relaxed and improve our environments. These aids help us to stay regulated. fidgets and chewelry fidgets are two such sensory tools.
Figure 1. Munchables Ultimate Fidget Pack.
Fidgets come in all shapes and sizes. Some people enjoy squishy fidgets while others enjoy fidgets that can be manipulated. There are many types of stim tools including chewelry, pop-its, spinner rings, pencil topper spinners, putty, stress balls and chair foot bands.
Chewelry is a great way to give children the oral and proprioceptive sensory input they need throughout the day to help them focus and stay calm. Sensory chew necklaces are a safe way for your child to always have their fidget available when they need it. A chewing necklace, such as the Munchables Pop It Chew Necklace, can act as both a fidget and a calming tool. Oral aids are proven to help generate a calm and focused response in users. The proprioceptive receptors located in our jaws send calming messages to our nervous system every time we chew.
If you are a pencil chewer, these clear chewy pencil toppers can be especially appreciated, shown below.
Figure 2. Woman chewing on Munchables Chewy Tube Pencil Toppers.
Fidgets and chewelry are two highly important tools for successful self-regulation. We recommend you add them to your toolkit today!
-Laura May at Munchables