Simple and calming ways to reduce bedtime anxiety in autism with sensory-friendly sleep tips, relaxing routines, stress relief ideas, and natural strategies for better sleep.
Sleeping on time can be such a difficult ordeal for many people who are on the spectrum or whose loved ones are. It’s common for their minds to race, bodies to feel itchy, or all the sudden, some slight changes in their regular order pose stress. A lot of others get attacked by their five or six senses reaching height in the evening, while others are disposed of by the sundown-and-whatnext bothersome feelings.
The encouraging thing is that most of the time, anxiety before bed can be tackled by making these changes at home.
One of the biggest changes that have worked best in almost all situations is having a routine at bedtime. These rarely seem to disappoint as autism and routine are more often than not, somewhat synonymous. When the same actions are performed in the same order each night, a person called a brain starts shutting down most if not all processes that are not important to sleep. Ordinary things like washing the face, changing clothes into pajamas, switching off the lights, telling a quick story or listening to a soothing melody can be used to deepen the reality that it is time for bed.
It is crucial that the child goes to sleep and wakes up in the morning around the same time every day, including during off days. It is not uncommon for some children to experience exacerbation of anxiety or even difficulties in falling sleep as a result of dramatic shift in sleep timing.
Another factor to be considered in managing environmental constraints is the use of the senses. Some can not bear bright light, loud sounds, some kinds of fabrics and even temperature variations. A space can be uncomfortable to some when to others it seems normal. In that case, there are contingency factors that can help in creating a more controlled atmosphere, such as warm and dim light spatial settings, dominantly operating white noise in open windows or other weather conditions, or just having a fan placed somewhere inconspicuous in case the heat becomes unbearable.
Of course, the type of covers being employed is also critical. You may wish to include those that press down gently on the sleeper’s body to ease of the patients as psychological pressure forms around them. Other patients, on the other hand, will find irritating any covers that are too heavy and will go out for covers of lesser thickness. Such minute adjustments in the surrounding ambiance sensory structures can also be focused on.
Watching television or using one’s smartphone before sleeping may boost anxiety or add to inactivity as any strobe device switches the activity of the head on. So, bright television or cell phone screen is likely to prolong the period until one falls asleep. So it would be nice to allow for a screen less “drug” for at least one hour before going to bed. Instead of screens and tv, it may be useful to do more structured exercises such as sketching, crossword puzzles, kids’ coloring, listen a soft music or an audiobook of your choice.
Certain food and drinks amplify the anxiety that is in the forefront at bedtime though not everyone watches this closely. Chocolate, crackers, candies, cola or other beverage with caffeine and other stimulating beverages at night are contraindicated as it may induce nervousness. Lighter meals for dinner is useful at times, accompanied with a warm cup of milk to be consumed.
Night time tends to be a bit more of a challenge for some people. This can especially be the case for people who happen to have autism and cannot focus their thoughts at night. They are obsessed with rerunning the days conversations, questions, concerns, and even the events at the park. In such situations, what may help is some form of relaxation. Controlled breathing, a bit of yoga, child’s pose with a pillow, or self-soothing white noise can easily help in this situation but should be done gently scaled.
Parental support plays a great role when it comes to mitigating bedtime stress. Meanwhile, If lying in bed and trying to fall asleep is always a test of their endurance children maysuffer from an exacerbated fear of sleeping with time passing by. But sometimes when a child experiences the opposite – a fear of the bed instead of sleeping that might be due to the fear of the dark, separation from the parent or simply not knowing exactly what happens when one goes to sleep because they might have never gone through the process before, will not apply in practical terms with the present comforting measure being the little bit of light coming from the nightlight.
In addition, sleep improving activities can be implemented during the day time as well which further aids in the advancement of night time sleep. For this, it is suggested that outdoor games, strolling and/or any other form of activity be employed hence enabling the system to utilize the surplus calories as it prepares the child for bed.
It is advisable at the same time to accept reality since all autistic individuals are unique. A method that has proven to be useful for one autistic individual may not help another. It is not feasible to imagine a perfect sleep plan within a day for an individual diagnosed with autism. What one should concentrate more on is developing a nurturing, methodical and sensory enriched environment.
Given time and repeated measures bed time concerns are often a thing of the past, ensuring both the autistic child and the whole family get enough sleep.
