Welcome to Kara Schmidt, PA and Registered Dietician for Infant Child & Adolescent Neurology

An insomniac learns to make the most of getting the least sleep

By Laura Hambleton
Special to The Washington Post
Tuesday, February 15, 2011

In the wee hours of the morning - or is it still night? - my eyes snap open and my mind races. What do I have to do today? What didn't I get done yesterday? Why did I get into that disagreement? Other nights, I am on a high wire, hovering between sleep and wakefulness and chewing over my next move. Do I open my eyes? Do I keep them shut? Can I soothe myself back to sleep? Do I even try? That I'm even having this monologue means I'm sunk. I'm awake. And so I crawl out of bed, grab my sweater and shoes, and tiptoe out of my bedroom and through my dark house where everyone else in my family, even the dog and cat, is sleeping soundly. Call me an insomniac. I don't like the name, but I'm not alone. According to studies from the National Institutes of Health, one in three Americans has some kind of insomnia, and one in 10, like me, has chronic insomnia.

To read the rest of the article and the author's experiences with insomnia, click here.