I have found a solution. This completely shuts down the sensor:
def shutdown_sensor():
sensor.__write_reg(240, 33)
sensor.__write_reg(241, 69)
sensor.__write_reg(242, 0)
sensor.__write_reg(243, 0)
sensor.__write_reg(246, 0)
sensor.__write_reg(247, 16)
sensor.__write_reg(248, 0)
sensor.__write_reg(249, 0)
sensor.__write_reg(250, 0)
sensor.__write_reg(251, 120)
sensor.__write_reg(252, 1)
sensor.__write_reg(253, 0)
sensor.__write_reg(254, 0)
Some of the writes might be superfluous, however