Characteristics of insomnia in the United States: Results of the 1991 National Sleep Foundation survey.

The National Sleep Foundation in conjunction with the Gallup Organization c onducted telephone interviews with a sample of Americans (N=1000) to examin e the prevalence and nature of difficulty with sleep. Consistent with other national studies, about one-third of Americans reported some type of sleep problem. Approximately one in four reported occasional insomnia while 9% r eported that their sleep difficulty occurred on a regular nightly basis. Th e problem most frequently reported by insomniacs was waking up in the morni ng feeling drowsy or tired, followed by waking up in the middle of the nigh t, difficulty going back to sleep after waking up and difficulty falling as leep initially. Importantly, insomniacs rarely visited a physician to discu ss their sleep problem and four out of ten insomniacs self-medicated with e ither over-the-counter medications or with alcohol. Two-thirds of the insom niacs reported that they did not have an understanding of available treatme nts for insomnia.