🌅 Sundowning / Evening Anxiety · 4 steps · Take it slow

Every evening it starts again — the restlessness, the worry.

Sundowning is exhausting, and very common. These are the calm evening steps other families lean on.

A calm-steps card from ourturn.care/help

1. 1

   Recognize the pattern

   Sundowning typically starts late afternoon. Anxiety builds as daylight fades. This is extremely common and not something they can control.

2. 2

   Adjust the environment now

   Your goal is to reduce all stimulation and create safety signals.

   • Turn on warm lights before it gets dark
   • Close curtains to reduce shadows
   • Turn off or lower the TV volume
   • Reduce the number of people in the room
3. 3

   Offer calming activities

   Gentle, repetitive, familiar activities work best during sundowning.

   • Gentle hand massage with lotion
   • Soft, familiar music
   • Folding towels or sorting objects
   • Looking through a photo album together
4. 4

   Prevent it tomorrow

   Log the episode with timing details. Over time, patterns emerge that help you prevent or reduce sundowning through schedule adjustments — more morning activity, less afternoon caffeine, consistent evening routine.

These steps are things other families try — not medical advice. Every person is different, and you know yours best.