Some sleeping pills like halcion have been known to cause periods of amnesia, and all sleeping pills lose their effectiveness after a few weeks. At that point they can, ironically, even begin to cause drug-induced insomnia.

Small amounts of alcohol, used on an infrequent basis, can also help a person fall asleep. But large amounts or more frequent use decreases REM.

UHS offers a wide variety of treatments for those who are having difficulty sleeping, Catlin says.

Staffers at the health center first investigate whether the disorder is purely physical, since the inability to sleep is often linked to other problems like anxiety and depression. If it is physical, they examine the patient's life pattern--including exercise and former sleep habits.

In some cases, a brief course of tranquilizers is prescribed, although if these are used too frequently, their effectiveness wears off. Tranquilizers are preferable to sleeping pills, Catlin says, because they relax rather than sedate the patient.

UHS staffers also teach relaxation techniques and use biofeedback techniques monitoring vital signs while different methods are attempted. The health center also gives out relaxation tapes to play at bedtime.

If all remedies fail, the effects of severe sleep deprivation will begin to manifest themselves after a night or two of inadequate sleep, Dr. Catlin says.

The initial symptoms of sleep deprivation are confusion and cognitive difficulty. As the condition advances, the individual may begin to feel dissociated from reality, becoming confused about the time or date.

Eventually, the individual may lose judgment and begin to respond inappropriately to stimuli.

"It's a progressively disturbing thing," Dr. Catlin says. "People reach psychotic-like states--but that's in the case of prisoners of war."

"We shouldn't see anything like it in college students," he says.