A: If someone thinks they’re supposed to get eight hours of sleep though they only need six, they may try to stay in bed for a full eight hours. That’s two hours to be sleepless and frustrated. Then let’s say that person has the idea that if they don’t get enough sleep they’ll get sick. That adds to their anxiety when they can’t sleep, increases the chance that they won’t in fact sleep well and can both worsen and perpetuate insomnia. In behavioral sleep medicine, we get a sense of how people think about sleep and try to correct those thoughts and beliefs that actually hinder more than help sleep.
Urination should never be painful. If you notice any signs of distress while your infant is urinating, notify your child's health care provider because this could be a sign of infection or some other problem in the urinary tract. In a healthy child, urine is light to dark yellow in color. (The darker the color, the more concentrated the urine; the urine is more concentrated when the child is not drinking much liquid.) The presence of blood in the urine or a bloody spot on the diaper is not normal and should prompt a call to the health care provider. If this bleeding occurs with other symptoms, such as abdominal pain or bleeding in other areas, immediate medical attention is needed. 8