a.m. She stares at the ceiling, her body splayed across her bed. The room is pitch black, and the house is filled with an almost suffocating silence. Yet her mind is anything but relaxed.

3 a.m. The house is still quiet. After an hour of laying down, her eyes remain wide awake. Maybe I should just get more work done. She gets up and turns on the light, flooding her vision with brightness. The other rooms remain dark and unmoving.

4 a.m. Numbness. She can feel it crawling up her limbs, weighing her down. She lays back down, but her mind won’t stop running. She closes her eyes and remains still.

5 a.m. The numbness takes over her body, seeping into her veins. Finally, it reaches her mind, and sleep washes over her.

For senior Kristin Lee, nights like these aren’t uncommon. Kristin suffers from insomnia, a sleep disorder characterized by the inability to fall asleep.

Read the story at https://mvelestoque.atavist.com/good-night-sleep-tight.