Calming time before sleep 'Golden hour'

The Golden Hour

The golden hour is the hour before bedtime for relaxing and winding down.

If your child is excited or anxious, their bodies will produce extra cortisol, the hormone that wakes us up and stops us falling asleep.

This will then suppress the production of the hormone melatonin, which encourages us to become sleepy.

For children, there are lots of activities which stimulate cortisol production such as exercise, watching TV and dancing.

Focus on quiet time and relaxing Offer quiet, relaxing activities for your child. This could include:

Spending one-to-one quiet time with your child. You may want to give deep pressure hugs which can have a calming effect. Listen to relaxing music or audio books, read a story or poems using a quiet tone. 

Do calming crafts or tasks, puzzles, colour block sorting, counting objects or a jigsaw. Play with putty – this is a sensory experience that can have a wind down effect due to the experience of texture and touch. 

Talk about an imaginary relaxing place with your child, focus on imagining sounds, smell, the warm sun. You could draw a picture of this place together. 

Do stretching or yoga.

Try a massage. 

And remember to turn screens off at least an hour before bedtime as they will stimulate your child.