Sleep Like a Four-Year-Old

Dr. Leah McCartt

I have been a psychiatrist for more than 22 years and the main problem I have been asked about is sleep. Here are my sleep boot-camp tips you can use to sleep like a four-year-old.

· Get up at the crack of dawn. … SERIOUSLY! Make sure you see the sun rise and transition from night to dawn.

· Slowly decrease sleep medications you have been taking. Yes, please talk to your doctor about this first.

· Pick a bedtime, ANY BEDTIME, and stick to this time. Make sure to give yourself at least six and a half hours to sleep.

· Fix your bedroom so you like that place a little bit.

· GET IN BED!!!! Really get in bed!

· Turn everything off and lay there for at least 15 minutes. If you are not asleep, get up, try again in 30 minutes. Repeat this cycle all night, even if you never fall asleep.

· Do not take naps.

· Stick to this for 14 days.

This is the tough, “boot camp” way to address your sleep problems, but, as with most good things, good sleep requires some work and discipline – sweet dreams!

Dr. Leah McCartt is a psychiatrist and serves Behavioral Health Services patients at the HopeHealth Medical Plaza in Florence. She is board certified in psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry and is a member of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, the American Medical Association, and the American Psychological Association.

HopeHealth

HopeHealth educates its patients on the importance of having a health care home. As a primary care facility, HopeHealth’s medical team works to prevent and detect illness and the early onset of disease, provide routine physical examinations and promote overall healthy lifestyles.