When you went to bed last night, did you nod off quickly and sleep soundly until it was time to wake up? Did you feel energized and alert this morning?

For many people, getting a good night’s sleep on a regular basis is just a dream. The National Institutes of Health reports that between 50 and 70 million Americans suffer from chronic or periodic sleep disorders.

While feeling exhausted is unpleasant enough, sleep problems can take a larger toll, affecting health, safety, and quality of life. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reports that sleepy drivers cause at least 100,000 motor crashes annually, claiming more than 1,500 lives. And people with long-term sleep problems face an increased risk for serious chronic conditions, including depression, heart disease, and diabetes.

Quantity and Quality Matter
According to medical experts, adults typically need about seven hours of sleep. Although adults ages 65 and older tend to sleep less soundly, they still need around seven hours—not less, as is widely believed.

Sleep appears to be a passive activity, but the body and brain perform complex, revitalizing tasks throughout the night. Energy is restored for daily activities, muscle mass increases, and cells and tissues grow and are repaired. Sleep also may improve the brain’s ability to learn, perform tasks, and process memories.

Numerous factors—physical, psychological, environmental, and behavioral—can conspire nightly to prevent the deep, uninterrupted sleep we need. Here are some of the most common sleep problems, along with strategies to overcome them.

Insomnia
Approximately 30 percent of American adults have occasional insomnia. People with insomnia have difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep; they may awaken several times during the night or wake up too early in the morning.

Insomnia’s underlying cause can often be readily identified and addressed: Switch medications, manage stress, or treat the underlying condition.

When the problem isn’t so straightforward, establishing sleepconducive habits may help:

• Develop a sleep routine by going to bed and getting up at the same times every day. Avoid napping.
• Make sure the bedroom is comfortable, quiet, dark, and cool.
• Relax before bedtime with a bath, light reading, or soothing music.
• Keep TVs, computers, and other distractions out of the bedroom.
• Avoid caffeine later in the day. Caffeine’s stimulating effects can last for up to eight hours.
• Exercise regularly, but finish several hours before bedtime.
• Avoid alcohol, large beverages, and heavy meals close to bedtime.

Restless Legs Syndrome
As many as 12 million Americans— especially older adults—suffer from restless legs syndrome, which causes crawling, tingling, or prickly sensations in the legs and feet that are relieved only by movement. The feelings occur when a person is sitting or lying down, and they are a common cause of insomnia. Medication that affects dopamine, a neurotransmitter in the brain, may provide relief.

Problem Snoring
Almost half of all Americans snore at least occasionally. But habitual, loud snoring is not normal and should be evaluated by a doctor. Besides disturbing anyone within earshot, it can be a symptom of a condition called sleep apnea.

Snoring results from obstructed breathing: When the tongue and throat muscles relax too much during sleep, the tongue can fall backward and block the airway, or the throat muscles draw inward, narrowing the airway. Problem snoring is most common in men and overweight people, and it often worsens with age.

Mild snoring may improve with weight loss, sleeping on one’s side, and avoiding sedatives, heavy meals, caffeine, and alcohol before bedtime. Surgery, including laser procedures to widen the airway, is an option to relieve severe snoring.

Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Medical experts believe that more than 12 million Americans have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It’s frequently mistaken for ordinary loud snoring, but it’s actually a potentially life-threatening condition. In OSA, the airway becomes completely obstructed so breathing stops for 10 to 30 seconds at a time during sleep. Patients are often unaware of it and are diagnosed only after they experience sleep-deprivation symptoms or their partner notices the problem.

OSA can lead to an increased risk for heart disease, heart attacks, hypertension, and stroke. OSA is often treated with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), which involves wearing a nasal mask that blows a steady stream of air to keep the airway open.

Surgical treatment may be another option. In milder cases, oral devices that reposition the jaw may help keep the airway open