What is insomnia?               Since the days of September 11, and the War against Iraq, more and more Americans have reported sleeping problems. Forty-four percent of Americans reported trouble falling asleep, 48% said they had more awakenings, and 50% said they woke up unrefreshed (Benedict). A spot survey by the Pew Research Center after the attacks of Sept. 11 put the rate of total sleep problems at 33%, that’s one third of our country that is suffering from sleep deprivation!         Insomnia is a clinical disorder that assumes many forms and affects nearly 10 million Americans (Benedict). Sleep researchers and clinics all over the world have different methods for diagnosing insomnia which are boiled down to three systems of classification. One classifies how long the insomnia lasts. There are three types in this classification that are transient insomnia, short-term insomnia, and chronic insomnia. A second system determines what type of sleeplessness occurs: Sleep Onset Insomnia, Maintenance Insomnia, and poor sleep quality. Then there is the last system, which determines the causes of the insomnia as associated with psychological problems, medical problems, insomnia due to lifestyle, caused by poor sleep habits, environment, and primary insomnia (based on inherited factors).         Transient Insomnia is a very common form of sleep deprivation that almost everyone experiences from time to time. Transient Insomnia only lasts for one to two nights and it is usually caused by stress and outside influences (Jacobs). Sleeping in a strange bed or a hotel room, caffeine intake and diet, vigorous exercise at night, and daily stresses like worrying about an upcoming event, are all factors that cause mild sleeplessness (Cardinal). Short-term insomnia lasts for four days to two or three weeks long. Stress or poor sleep habits can bring this on. Anxiety, saddened mood, or excitement about things like health, business, relationships, and lifestyle changes can bring on this insomnia (Cardinal).          Chronic insomnia is sleep deprivation that lasts for several months and even years. Sometimes it starts as early as adolescence and continues for years afterwards. Chronic insomnia is the most severe type of insomnia that can cause an array of health problems and psychological damage. In most cases it is clinically diagnosed, and medications, therapy, sleeping techniques and habits, or other treatment programs are needed to aid the patient to cure the insomnia.         Sleep-Onset Insomnia and Maintenance Insomnia are the two major types of insomnia. Sleep-Onset insomniacs have trouble falling asleep at night, taking a couple of hours to finally drift to sleep. The typical night might include going to bed at 11:00 P.M. then falling asleep around 2:30A.M. or 3:00A.M., and then waking up in the morning at the normal time around 7:30A.M. Maintenance Insomniacs don’t have trouble falling asleep, they have trouble staying asleep. Maintenance Insomniacs either wake up in the middle of the night and then can’t go back to sleep for several hours, or they wake up in the early hours of the morning around 4:00 A.M. and can’t go back to sleep. Then there is the third and less obvious type that doesn’t wake up at all during the night, but they are deprived of true sleep because they lack sleep quality. This type wakes up feeling tired, groggy, and unrefreshed because they do not sleep soundly through the night (Jacobs).