The Goodnight Game and Deep Pressure Therapy

Do you have a little one with anxiety or sensory issues? Is bedtime often a struggle as the mad rush in the evenings often leave your kid so hyped up that falling asleep almost seems impossible for them and a tremendous stress for you? Does this sound all too familiar? Then I hope that the following info on Deep Pressure Therapy and our Goodnight Game helps you as much as it helps us.

This first time I learnt about deep touch therapy was after one of Cara’s occupational therapy sessions a few years ago. Cara could be very hyper after OT sessions, especially if they focussed a lot on gross motor skills. I often struggled to calm her after such a session and the late afternoon appointments resulted in stressful evenings where I had to deal with suicide hour and a preschooler who was bouncing of the walls.

Anyway, back to that afternoon. Cara came out of her session literally jumping up and down. I couldn’t even chat to the OT properly as Cara was more than a hand full at that stage. The therapist told me wrap her in a heavy blanket and plop her in front of the TV for a bit when we get home… why? The question lead me to learning more about the benefits of Deep Pressure Therapy.

What is Deep Pressure Therapy

When you apply deep pressure to the body, the body switches from running its sympathetic nervous system to its parasympathetic nervous system. This is the so-called switch from “fight or flight” to “rest and digest”.

The sympathetic nervous system (SNS) is the “alert” system in the body. This is the one in charge when you’re facing a stressful situation at work, driving through heavy traffic in a storm, or when you receive an unexpected bill in the mail.

When the SNS takes the lead for too long, you feel anxious, tired, on edge, and irritable. You don’t sleep as well and your digestive system might act up.

Unfortunately kids with autism spectrum and sensory processing disorders spend a lot of time stuck in the sympathetic nervous system. Even when they do calm down, it takes very little to retrigger this system.

The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS), however, brings a sense of calm and peace to the mind and body.

When the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, your heart rate slows, muscles relax, and circulation improves. Your body produces endorphins, which are the “happy” hormones that make you feel amazing after a good run.

As deep pressure is applied to the body, the parasympathetic nervous system comes online, calming your child and bringing a sense of well-being.

– source: AppliedBehaviorAnalysisEdu.org

No wonder it feels so good under those heavy blankets on a rainy evening or cuddling with your kid after a crappy day at work!

Learning about the benefits of deep pressure lead us to the Goodnight Game.

I also have a few extra tips to help calm a sensitive or anxious child at bedtime.

The Goodnight Game

We struggled a lot to get Cara to fall asleep when she was a toddler. In all honesty, it was hell. On a bad night, it could take me an hour and a half to get her to fall asleep after lights out. I clearly remember the night we invented the Goodnight Game. It was a summer’s evening and both Cara and I were very hot, sweaty and irritated. I just learned about deep touch therapy, but cuddling or heavy blankets were definitely not going to help that night. The idea then popped into my head to use deep pressure to say goodnight to every body part.

I turned Cara on her back, asked her to lie still with her eyes closed because we were going to play a new game. I started at her toes. Holding on to her toes with firm (not hard) pressure, I said ‘goodnight toes’ and held my grip for a bit. I then went on to say goodnight to every body part moving up from her feet to her head. I took my time and said goodnight to her toes, feet, ankles, shins, knees, thighs, hips… all the way up to her forehead. I turned her over on to her tummy and started at her feet again. Before I reached her shoulders again, she was out like a light! It worked!!

Say what?! Did I actually find a trick to get her to fall asleep without either of us having a complete meltdown?! Yes I did!

The Goodnight Game helped us for a long time during the preschool years. We haven’t needed it for quite a while, but Cara asked to ‘play’ last night. I think the 2nd term of Grade 1 started off with a bang and she’s been a bit anxious. She hasn’t been falling asleep as well as she usually does, so last night she asked if we could try and voilà… dreamland.

What do you think of our game? Have you tried deep pressure therapy?

Please let me know in the comments below. I’d love to hear what you think.

xoxo