Insomnia &
Sleep Disorders Rest is not a luxury.

Physician evaluation and evidence-based treatment for insomnia, disrupted sleep, and sleep-related health conditions that are affecting your quality of life and your health.

Book an Appointment
Florida Insurances
Georgia Insurances
New York Insurances
South Carolina Insurances
North Carolina Insurances
Sleep Is a Medical Necessity When Sleep Becomes
the Problem

Poor sleep is one of the most pervasive and underaddressed health problems in modern life. Difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or waking too early, night after night, creates a cumulative sleep debt that affects cognitive function, mood, physical health, immune response, and metabolic regulation in ways that compound over time. Yet most people with chronic insomnia never receive evaluation or treatment beyond a prescription for a sleep medication.

At Superior Health Medical and Wellness, Dr. Akers evaluates insomnia and sleep disorders comprehensively, identifies contributing factors, rules out underlying medical causes, and develops a treatment plan that addresses the root of the problem. The most effective long-term treatment for insomnia is not a sleeping pill. It is cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia (CBT-I), which Dr. Akers introduces and coordinates alongside any necessary short-term pharmacological support.

Book Your Appointment
Insomnia and sleep disorder evaluation at Superior Health Medical
Insomnia & Sleep Disorder Services What We Provide

From chronic insomnia to sleep apnea evaluation and circadian rhythm disorders, Dr. Akers provides comprehensive physician-led sleep evaluation and treatment at Superior Health. Explore the services below.

Dr. Akers conducts a thorough evaluation of your sleep history, including sleep onset, maintenance, and quality, as well as daytime functioning, mood, energy levels, and any factors affecting sleep including medications, caffeine, alcohol, and sleep environment. She identifies the type of insomnia and the factors driving it before recommending treatment.
CBT-I is the gold-standard, first-line treatment for chronic insomnia with stronger long-term evidence than any sleep medication. It addresses the thoughts, behaviors, and habits that perpetuate insomnia and produces durable improvement. Dr. Akers introduces CBT-I principles, provides foundational guidance, and coordinates referral to trained CBT-I providers when indicated.
Evidence-based sleep hygiene practices form the foundation of healthy sleep. Dr. Akers provides specific, practical guidance on sleep scheduling, light and darkness management, bedroom environment, pre-sleep routines, and the elimination of sleep-disrupting habits. This is not generic advice but a targeted plan based on your specific sleep pattern and history.
When short-term pharmacological support is appropriate, Dr. Akers selects sleep medications based on your specific presentation, medical history, and the type of insomnia you have. She uses the safest, most appropriate medication at the lowest effective dose, with a clear plan for how long to continue and how to taper when the time comes.
Obstructive sleep apnea is a common and frequently undiagnosed cause of poor sleep quality, daytime fatigue, and significant cardiovascular risk. If your history suggests sleep apnea, including snoring, observed breathing pauses, waking unrefreshed, or excessive daytime sleepiness, Dr. Akers evaluates for this condition and coordinates sleep study referral for diagnosis and CPAP initiation.
Many medical conditions disrupt sleep, including thyroid disorders, pain conditions, hormonal imbalances, depression, anxiety, and gastroesophageal reflux. Dr. Akers evaluates for medical contributors to insomnia and treats or manages them as part of a comprehensive sleep improvement plan.
Why It Matters Poor Sleep Is Not
Something to Push Through
Sleep health evaluation and treatment at Superior Health Medical
01 Chronic Sleep Deprivation Has Serious Health Consequences

Consistently poor sleep is associated with increased risk of obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, stroke, depression, anxiety, and impaired immune function. Cognitive function, memory consolidation, and emotional regulation all depend on adequate sleep. Chronic insomnia is a health condition with real medical consequences.

02 Sleeping Pills Are Not the Long-Term Answer

Prescription sleep medications can provide short-term relief but carry risks of dependence, tolerance, next-day cognitive impairment, and fall risk, particularly in older adults. They do not address the underlying factors driving insomnia. CBT-I, by contrast, produces durable improvement that lasts long after treatment ends.

03 Sleep Problems Are Diagnosable and Treatable

Insomnia has identifiable causes and effective treatments. You do not have to accept chronic poor sleep as your baseline. Whether the driver is anxiety, poor sleep habits, a medical condition, a circadian rhythm problem, or sleep apnea, Dr. Akers evaluates systematically and develops a targeted treatment plan.

Book an Appointment
Insomnia evaluation and causes at Superior Health Medical
Understanding Insomnia More Than Just
Trouble Sleeping

Insomnia is defined as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, or achieving restorative sleep at least three nights per week for at least three months, accompanied by daytime consequences including fatigue, mood disturbance, cognitive difficulty, or impaired performance. It is one of the most common conditions in primary care and one of the most undertreated.

Insomnia can be acute, triggered by a specific stressor and self-resolving, or chronic, persisting long after the original trigger has resolved because the behavioral and psychological patterns that perpetuate sleeplessness have become self-sustaining. Chronic insomnia typically involves a combination of predisposing factors, precipitating triggers, and perpetuating behaviors that keep the insomnia going.

Dr. Akers evaluates all three layers of your insomnia. Understanding what started it and what is keeping it going is essential for designing treatment that actually works rather than just providing a temporary pharmacological override of your natural sleep difficulty.

CBT-I and sleep therapy at Superior Health Medical and Wellness
CBT-I: The Gold Standard Why Behavioral Treatment
Outperforms Medication

Cognitive behavioral therapy for insomnia is a structured intervention that targets the thoughts and behaviors that perpetuate chronic insomnia. Its core components include sleep restriction therapy to consolidate and strengthen the sleep drive, stimulus control to reassociate the bed with sleep rather than wakefulness and frustration, cognitive restructuring of unhelpful beliefs about sleep, and relaxation training.

Multiple randomized controlled trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated that CBT-I produces improvement equivalent to or superior to sleep medication in the short term and significantly superior long-term results. Most patients achieve meaningful improvement within 6 to 8 weeks of CBT-I treatment. Dr. Akers introduces these principles and, where available, connects you with trained CBT-I providers for the full structured program.

Schedule Your Sleep Evaluation
Frequently Asked Questions Your Questions,
Answered
Insomnia is defined as sleep difficulty occurring at least three nights per week for at least three months, accompanied by daytime consequences. A transient period of poor sleep during a stressful event is not clinical insomnia. If poor sleep has become your baseline for months and it is affecting how you feel and function during the day, Dr. Akers recommends an evaluation.
Most prescription sleep medications are not recommended for long-term regular use due to risks of tolerance, dependence, and side effects. Dr. Akers uses sleep medications as a short-term bridge while behavioral treatment is initiated, not as a long-term solution. She will discuss the risks and appropriate duration for any medication she prescribes.
Sleep apnea involves repeated pauses in breathing during sleep that fragment sleep quality and reduce oxygen levels. Classic symptoms include loud snoring, observed breathing pauses, waking with gasping or choking, unrefreshing sleep despite adequate hours, and significant daytime sleepiness. It is more common in people who are overweight, have a larger neck circumference, or sleep on their back. Dr. Akers evaluates for sleep apnea and refers for a sleep study when indicated.
Yes. Anxiety and depression are among the most common causes of insomnia. Racing thoughts, difficulty quieting the mind, and the early morning awakening pattern are all common manifestations of anxiety and depression in the sleep context. Dr. Akers evaluates for these conditions at every sleep visit and treats them when present.
Evidence-based sleep hygiene practices that can help right away include going to bed and waking at consistent times every day including weekends, limiting time in bed to actual sleep time, avoiding screens for 30 to 60 minutes before bed, keeping the bedroom cool and dark, limiting caffeine after noon, and avoiding alcohol within three hours of bedtime.