It's 4:34 a.m. I am in bed, staring at my alarm clock. My eyes blink slowly as the time continues to get later and later. I contemplate switching on the TV, but I know there won't be anything on the boob tube. An infomercial with Judith Light from Who's the Boss trying to sell acne medication doesn't exactly make my heart spin.

I could wake up my roommate, who always told me I should when I can't sleep. Then again, the guilt of keeping her awake just because I am is too overwhelming. I could do some homework or watch The X-Files movie for the millionth time.

However, I'm lazy too. I start to doze off around 5:47 a.m. Then, my alarm clock goes off at 7:45 a.m., nagging me to get ready for my first class. Another sleepless night for Katie.

Contrary to popular belief, I don't dream about how great New Jersey is or how much better the Devils are than the Flyers. In fact, I barely dream. Insomnia is a disease. Yeah, a disease that is barely talked about and one that has no real cure. Sure, people can get more sleep as time goes on, but in my opinion, you're never really cured from insomnia.

Doctors can prescribe sleeping pills, you can go see a therapist to talk about how your mother made you eat broccoli three times a week and how it has emotionally scarred you so bad that you can't sleep anymore, or you can just deal with it. I prefer the last method of choice.

I didn't always have insomnia. I used to be one of those "sleepers," the type of person who always got eight hours of sleep no matter what.

Then, around junior year of high school, it stopped. My sleeping pattern took a devastating change, one I have never truly recovered from. I thought it was done with freshman year of college, but insomnia is very deceiving.

You think after a few weeks or even months of sleeping at least six hours a night that you've moved past it. But it comes back. It always comes back. I'm lucky if I make it through a night with three hours of sleep. As Edward Norton says in Fight Club, "With insomnia, you're never really asleep; you're never really awake." You live in this surreal world from which non-insomniacs can't enter or even understand.

Why am I telling you all of this? (Some of you are probably still pissed about my Jersey column that you won't even bother to read this column this far.)

Insomnia seems prevalent in the world of college students. Think about all the nights cramming for big exams or writing papers that never seem to get done. These could be things that lead to insomnia. Once you start to constantly lose sleep, it cultivates into a bigger problem.

People think solving this problem is easy. I was so desperate for sleep that I went so far as to purchase a book, Say Goodnight to Insomnia, which gave me some interesting facts about this little-known problem. I was never one for self-help books, tapes, etc., but did you know that insomnia is more common in women? But beware, you men out there also might get it too.

It is not a disease in which you just don't sleep at all. There can be periods in which you are getting unrefreshing sleep, waking up several times during the night, or even just waking up too early in the morning.

Doctors around the world have suggested all types of methods to combat insomnia from writing in sleep diaries to evaluating how you sleep to sleeping pills. I don't recommend the pills.

They are somewhat addictive, and it is "fake sleep," where the only thing giving you sleep is the pills. My theory is, you should be able to sleep on your own. One thing doctors say that I find amusing is that alcohol apparently brings on insomnia as well. Considering how many people on this campus probably pass out from too much drinking, that fact seems ironic.

In light of all the prescriptions for insomnia that don't seem to work, I have compiled my own small list of guidelines to help anyone with insomnia. Try them. If they don't work, remember, I'm only a student. I can't even pass my required general education science classes.

Watch the most boring movie you own. I own a few movies that I think are truly bad, and I continue to wonder why I bought them. I own The Bachelor, a film with Chris O'Donnell and Renee Zellweger. I think I bought it because I have been a sucker for O'Donnell since Circle of Friends. But I even have to admit it is pretty bad. So, I just pop in the tape, bring out my pillow and a blanket to our somewhat comfortable couch and I wait. Eventually, the movie will make my eyes heavy. Scoff at this if you will, but take a minute to ponder the movies you own. I'm sure there is one you wish you didn't have in your collection. It just might be your savior if you have a sleeping problem. Then again, you can watch Office Space and try to fall asleep to the sounds of "Damn It Feels Good to Be a Gangsta" by Geto Boys. Whatever works for you.

Fly through the Internet. There are many things on the Internet that can hold your interest from porn to articles on your favorite celebrities (mine being David Duchovny) to spoilers on the new Star Wars movie coming out next year.

The effects of looking at a computer screen for a varying amount of time can either make your head hurt or your eyelids start to droop. There are also some games you could play, like trivia games, crosswords on CNN.com, or Freecell on your own computer. In most cases, the computer is the quickest way to make you tired.

Read. Yeah, this seems silly. Reading could make anyone fall asleep. I say this mostly to students who only read when it's absolutely necessary for a class. There are people out there who like to read for, get this, fun. The words will soon start to mix together, so you might actually start to hope for a few hours of sleep. In case it doesn't, you feel smarter for being better read. Either way, I think you can win.

Count sheep. I am actually throwing this one in for a laugh. Counting sheep doesn't work. Nor does counting the holes in your ceiling, how many shots of tequila you did the other night, or how many days until your next birthday (95 days until I turn 22 — I told you it doesn't really work).

Insomnia "experts" say there are various forms of "cures" from relaxation therapy to sleep restriction therapy to reconditioning. Some doctors even say that insomnia is a psychological disease that can only be helped through therapy. In some cases, this is might be true. In most cases, like mine, I don't think it is.

For me, my mind just can't stop working, so I don't sleep. I can't relax enough to fall into REM sleep. My friends try to understand, but while they sleep eight hours through the night or even more, I stay awake and wonder just what the hell is wrong with me. This might stay with me the rest of my life. It might not.

Just know this. Insomnia sucks, no doubt about it. Next time you can't sleep and are passing through the latest Cher infomercial at 3:48 a.m. or that dreaded Behind the Music repeat of Bon Jovi (a personal favorite), know there is someone who is doing exactly the same thing. You are definitely not alone.