I used to take Ativan and had it prescribed "as needed". My instructions were to take 1-2 mg every 4 hours as needed. Generally I needed to once a day every couple of days.

If you're taking it multiple times during the day I'd just spread it out so it'll be even for the time when you're awake.

It's probably ok to take it with the sleeping med. If it wasn't the Dr. or pharmacist most likely would have said something 1 mg isn't very much. But if you're really worried check with your pharmacist.

Ativan is good because it's really fast acting - you usually feel the effect within 30 min., but it also doesn't stay in your system all that long, so you can get sudden spikes in anxiety when it wears off.

I'm now on clonazapam, another benzo that's slower but longer acting. I'm supposed to be taking 1 mg 3 times daily - so I just take it with meals, and another 2 mg at night, but 3/4 of the time I forget to take it after breakfast, so I'm probably going to be telling my Dr. to officially reduce it soon.

--splitimage