Neurodivergent Space

By: Frog Girl.

As an adult living with autism, I often feel more prone to emotional, physical, and cognitive instability. This instability can increase the severity of my existing autism symptoms, resulting in more brain fog, ruminating thoughts, difficulty socializing, anxiety, repetitive behaviours, sensory distress, overstimulation, meltdowns, etc. 

There are several techniques to manage each issue individually, but for most symptoms, a stable daily routine can increase my overall stability (particularly my sleep and meal schedule). It is not a pure solution, as I still require other strategies to support unpredictability in my day, but having a daily routine helps to keep me relatively stable. 

First and foremost, my daily routine revolves around my sleep schedule. It does not matter what I do throughout my day; if I do not have a good night’s sleep, or if I fall asleep/wake up at an irregular time, I will feel very unstable for the next few days or weeks until my sleep schedule is back on track. I have a reminder set on my phone, so that every night I receive a notification for when it is time to start settling down for sleep. At this time, I complete my pre-bed routine: warm glass of milk, take nighttime medications, brush my teeth, and set up my room for a good sleep environment. In order to keep my sleep schedule on track, I find it important for myself to wake up at the same time everyday. I try my best to keep my morning alarm set for the same time every day, even if I fell asleep a little later than normal the night prior. I am very sleep-sensitive, and I rely on a regular pattern of good sleep to decrease my risk of overstimulation or meltdowns. 

According to my mother, I have been sleep-sensitive since I was a small child, and I continue to need support by sticking to my sleep schedule as I age. Sleep aid such as small doses of melatonin (natural substance) greatly helps me put my sleep schedule back on track, and can help me stay asleep throughout the night. I happen to be extremely sensitive to melatonin, so I only take 1 mg before bedtime; if I take more than 1 mg, I will feel very drowsy in the morning. Everyone’s body responds differently to melatonin though, as I’ve met certain people who need upwards of 10 mg for it to benefit them. For some people, taking melatonin every night can reduce its efficacy, meaning you may need to increase your dose over time to maintain the benefits. If you take prescribed medications, it may be best to discuss melatonin use with your doctor, as melatonin can sometimes increase or decrease the effectiveness of prescribed medications (such as anti-inflammatories, antidepressants, and corticosteroids). 

Other sleep aids also help. For example, I use a 15-pound weighted blanket every night for comfort, and sometimes throw a weight lap pad (7 pounds) on top for extra pressure. This feeling of pressure can make some people feel trapped, but for myself, I feel extra secure as it decreases my feelings of shakiness and physiological anxiety. My body also has difficulty regulating its temperature; I get hot easily, but I also need the weighted blanket to feel secure.

I find a fan or AC unit helps to regulate room temperature and keep me feeling comfortable throughout the night. I also like to keep several pillows and soft-textured stuffed animals in-reach to maintain a nice sleep position and to deal with sensory distress. For example, if I’m sleeping on my side, I keep one pillow behind my back, and a soft-textured stuffed animal in front to hug and rest my chin on. If one stuffed animal doesn’t feel like enough, there are others on my bed to grab to prop around me. This all helps to keep me feeling comfortable and secure for a good night’s sleep. Lastly, I prefer that my room is dark when I fall asleep. I used to have anxiety in the dark, so I would use a small night light growing up, but I need less light now that I am older, have less anxiety, and am getting proper sleep. If sleeping in pure darkness gives you anxiety and is interfering with you falling asleep, I would suggest to continue using a small night light as long as it’s not too bright and not directly near your face while you fall asleep.

(Axolotl plushie is my favourite night time stuffed animal)

My meal schedule is also important. Just like anyone else, being hungry does not feel good, and I will feel more overstimulated and sensitive to my environment when I haven’t eaten. My problem is, I often don’t clue in when I’m feeling hungry, and I will often delay eating due to fixating on work, activities, or hobbies. My brain will be preoccupied with what I am doing at the moment, and is unable to change immediate direction without a feeling of anxiety. Setting alarms for meal times sometimes helps (like an alarm at noon for lunch), but oftentimes I will still delay making food when the alarm goes off, because the immediate change will leave me feeling physically anxious, resulting in me feeling weak, overstimulated, or unable to think clearly. To combat this, I find it useful to set several alarms: 1-hour prior to meal time, another one half-hour before meal time, and possibly one 15-minutes prior to meal time, all to gradually prepare my brain to make the transition from being preoccupied with my tasks to making food in the kitchen. This also allows myself to wrap-up my tasks in the moment so I can return to them later in the day. 

By the time I need food, I sometimes feel overstimulated (unable to think clearly, overly sensitive to my environment, anxious, or weak), leading to difficulty making food in the kitchen, or difficulty consuming food altogether. However, food almost always helps these feelings, even if it is difficult to make or consume food at the moment. It helps to keep granola or protein bars in the house, as it is easy to grab and consume one, restore my blood sugar levels, and possibly continue to make a proper meal afterwards. Eating consistent foods throughout the week also helps, as my body will become used to certain tastes or textures and it is easier to consume those food items than other new ones. Due to this, I like to stock up on similar foods in my house, so that I can have the same meals at the same time every day. It helps to keep me on track with my meal schedule, and since I can expect what I will be eating, it also reduces sensory distress when it is time to eat.

Additionally, these food choices that I stock up on are usually easy to make quite quickly. Worst-case-scenario, if I am alone and too overstimulated to make food, ordering in food is an option for myself (I usually use the Uber Eats app, as there is minimal contact with others). I am currently living with parents, which is a great support to ensure that I am eating regularly. Overall, consuming a regular, healthy diet greatly helps me to feel more stable throughout my day.

(Whole grain bar, easy to grab and consume prior to meal time)

Despite understanding the benefits of my routine, it is easier to write these strategies than to implement them myself. If I could easily implement everything mentioned above by myself, then I wouldn’t need additional support from parents throughout the week to keep me on track. It helps that I still live at home, and that I am fortunate enough to keep loved ones around who are able to assist me in implementing my routine, whether that is reminding me and assisting to make meals, or ensuring I don’t sleep in too long. Without my parents, I would need support workers to assist me throughout the week to ensure I am eating and sleeping properly, and taking general care of myself. There are many other aspects of my daily routine, but as my sleep and meal schedule are both the most influential on my current state, my daily routine revolves around both my sleep and my meal schedule.