Lying awake at 3 a.m. doing math on how ruined tomorrow will be is its own special misery. Insomnia is highly treatable once someone actually looks for its cause. Alice Tran, PMHNP-BC sees Maryland adults by secure telehealth.
Book a Telehealth Appointment →Chronic insomnia affects roughly one in ten adults, and in a region that runs on early commutes, shift work at hospitals and federal facilities, and phones that never sleep, Maryland has more than its share. The critical clinical question is almost never "which sleeping pill," but "why is sleep broken": anxiety that revs at bedtime, depression with 4 a.m. wakings, untreated ADHD minds that will not idle, sleep apnea, medications, alcohol, or a decade of habits that trained the brain to fight the bed.
The evaluation sorts those causes properly, screens for the conditions insomnia hides inside, and flags when a sleep study for apnea is needed before anything else. Treating an underlying anxiety disorder or depression is frequently what fixes the sleep, and treating the sleep in turn accelerates everything else.
For insomnia itself, the strongest evidence belongs to cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), whose core principles are built into treatment here. Medication has a thoughtful, honest role: modern non-habit-forming options and short, deliberate courses where appropriate, plus a frank review of the long-term sedatives many patients arrive dependent on. Benzodiazepine tapering is not provided here; when a taper is needed, Alice helps you find the right setting for that care.
Early waking with a racing mind is a classic depression and anxiety signature. Treating the cause beats sedating the symptom.
Hospital, federal, and public safety schedules break circadian rhythms in predictable ways. Care built around your actual clock.
Years of nightly zolpidem or benzodiazepines deserve an honest reassessment and clear guidance on safer long-term options.
Insomnia rarely travels alone. The full picture gets treated, because half-treatment gives half-sleep.
No. The first step is finding out why sleep is broken. Medication may be part of treatment, chosen carefully, but a prescription without a diagnosis is how people end up on sedatives for a decade.
CBT-I retrains the timing, habits, and thinking patterns around sleep, and its core techniques, like stimulus control and sleep scheduling, are integrated into care here. For structured full-course CBT-I, Alice can point you to programs and coordinate.
If you snore, wake gasping, or are exhausted despite full nights, yes, possibly. The evaluation screens for it, and a home sleep study can be arranged through your primary care provider before medication decisions are made.
It deserves a review. Long-term nightly sedatives often stop helping and can affect memory and balance. Benzodiazepine tapering is not provided at this practice, but Alice can review your options and help you find the right care setting if a taper is needed.
Insomnia evaluation and care by telehealth across Maryland.
Book Now →Or call/text: (703) 791-9099