Adolescent and Young Adult Psychotherapist
Benefits of Using Fidgets
Do you ever find yourself tapping your hands or feet? Twirling your hair, biting your nails or playing with things around you? Oftentimes you may not even be aware you are engaging in these activities or how they are helping you. That is your body’s way of releasing restless energy and it can also help reduce anxiety symptoms. Fidget toys can increase concentration and attention, and help keep you calm. Since most fidget toys are things we hold or do with our hands, they can help ground us by bringing us into our senses, specifically the sense of touch. Focusing on our senses, brings us out of our heads and into our bodies. This helps our emotional brain calm down.
We’ve written about how grounding techniques can help do this and so can fidgets. I am also here to tell you, fidget toys are not only for children. Anyone can use them including adults! My fidget toys come in handy when I am in a long meeting, doing a long task and having to sit still for long periods. Different types of toys:
- Fidget Spinner/Cube/Pad
- Tangle Toys
- Hoberman Mini Spheres
- Stress Balls
- Fidget Chains
- Thinking Putty
- Monkey Noodles
- Squishy
- Liquid Motion Bubbler
- Pencil Set with Fidgets
- Hair tyes
- Plush Keychains
- Kinetic Sand
- Playdough
