Ativan (Lorazepam) and Sleep

Hey everybody, I have some questions.

I have been taking lorazepam .5 mg as needed for the past 5 years. Sometimes, "as needed" means twice a month, sometimes it means twice a week. In the beginning, I used to take it for panic attacks. Now that I don't have panic disorder anymore, I only take it when I have a public speaking event or when I have really bad insomnia, which only happens occasionally.

I am currently entering day 7 of the worst bout of insomnia I've ever had. Last Friday I slept 6 hours which was fine, but then on Saturday I only got 4 hours and felt sick all day on Sunday. Monday through Wednesday nights I slept about 6 hours each night, and last night I only slept 4-5 broken hours and I feel absolutely miserable. Since last Saturday, I've taken .5 mg lorazepam every night to encourage sleep. It seems to work - I think without it I would not even be sleeping at all. I really want to have a good night of restorative sleep tonight so I was wondering if I should take .5 mg at bedtime but then another .5 mg when I inevitably wake up in the night and struggle to get back to sleep (note: I've safely taken 1 mg before in the past). I'm hoping this will help me get a FULL night but I'm concerned about becoming addicted, since I've never taken it for this many days in a row before.
What do you guys think?

I am a firm believer in you take benzo's as you need them. Whether that be once a month or twice a day. On another note there are better options for sleep just ask your pdoc.

I have taken one mg and been fine, but Guinness is right. There are lots better choices that don't have addiction potential. Give the doc a call. Something's probably gone awry since suddenly you have needed such an increase.