Poor quality sleep sometimes is caused by sleep apnea, a condition caused by the cessation of breathing during sleep. John White began snoring loudly in 1998 after gaining 40 pounds. The 56-year-old Bountiful man often woke up unrested, with piercing headaches. And he was driving his wife crazy with his chainsaw snoring. At her insistence, he underwent a sleep study at LDS Hospital later that year. Doctors diagnosed him with sleep apnea and recommended he use a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine. The device blows air into his nose through a mask to keep the airway from collapsing and creating an obstruction. White calls the mask a lifesaver and credits his better sleeping patterns to helping him drop 20 pounds, get rid of his headaches and lower his blood pressure. - Carey Hamilton

What is insomnia?

A Insomnia is poor quality sleep due to difficulty falling asleep, waking up frequently during the night and finding it hard to return to sleep or waking up too early in the morning. It is not defined by the number of hours of sleep a person gets or how long it takes to get to sleep. It can be a short-term condition, occur occasionally or be a chronic condition.

Q What causes insomnia?

A Insomnia occurs more frequently in old age, in women and in those with a history of depression. Short-term or intermittent insomnia typically is related to stress, environmental noise, extreme temperatures or medication side effects. It is worsened by behavior such as ingesting excessive amounts of caffeine, drinking alcohol before bedtime, smoking, excessive napping in the afternoon and irregular sleep/wake schedules.

Q How is chronic insomnia treated?

A Insomnia is treated first by diagnosing and treating underlying medical or psychological problems. Behaviors that worsen insomnia must be identified and stopped. Patients typically try behavioral techniques to improve sleep, such as relaxation therapy, sleep restriction therapy and reconditioning. Sleeping pills taken under a doctor's supervision also are an option.

National Institutes of Health, on insomnia