Claudia Keane had not enjoyed a good night's sleep in more than a year.
Like Michael Jackson, she suffers from extreme insomnia.

"I understood what Michael was going through. You would not wish this on anybody," she says.

In his struggle for sleep, Jackson took a litany of powerful narcotics like Valium, lorazepam, midazolam, and of course, the hospital-grade anesthetic Propofol.

"You absolutely get desperate," Keane says.

Jackson wasn't alone; millions of Americans suffer from insomnia and struggle to get a good night's sleep.

"I tried nine different medications, and none of them worked," Keane says.

So the exhausted 46-year-old mom checked into New Jersey's Sommerset Medical Center Sleep for Life clinic.

Dr. Pryanka Yadov says stress can trigger insomnia.

"They panic," says Dr. Yadov.  "They're not getting enough sleep, [they worry] how are they going to function the next day, all that increases their anxiety."

Treatment takes time, but here are some techniques that anyone can use to conquer insomnia:

- Go to bed at the same time every night.
- Wake up at the same time every morning.
- Keep the same schedule during the week.
- Keep your bedroom dark and cool.
- Exercise daily.

By following this regimen, Claudia says she now gets seven to eight hours of sleep a night and she wishes Michael Jackson could have gotten the help he needed.