DENVER -- The recent death of pop singer Michael Jackson has put a spotlight on insomnia - or the inability to get to sleep or stay asleep.

According to the American Academy of Family Practice, approximately 10 to 17 percent of Americans suffer from insomnia.

"Some of the drugs reported to have been in his home should never be used in a home setting," said Dr. Dianne McCallister, the chief medical officer at Porter Adventist Hospital. "The drug Diprivan is a very powerful agent used to put people under for surgery. It is so dangerous that we carefully restrict where in our hospital it can be used, what monitoring is required when it is used, and who is qualified to use it," said McCallister.

The medical definition of insomnia is disturbed sleep -- either inability to go to sleep or inability to stay asleep -- over the period of a month or more.

The insomnia is then divided into types, such as primary insomnia, which is difficulty with sleep that is not associated with any medication, disease or psychiatric illness.

Secondary insomnia is related to medications - such as diet pills, steroids, even alcohol, or any diseases - common ones being depression, anxiety, thyroid problems and sleep apnea.

People who don't get enough sleep may have trouble remembering new information, and experience feelings of irritability and lack of energy.

However, chronic insomnia can cause more serious problems such as increased number of infections, high blood pressure, heart attacks, diabetes and strokes.

The treatment depends on the cause of the insomnia. It is best to get evaluated by a medical professional to be sure that there are not any underlying diseases causing difficulty with sleeping.

"If you snore, sleep walk or have pauses in your breathing while sleeping, you may have sleep apnea. If so, then treatment for the disease is very important to getting you back to a good night’s sleep," said McCallister.

There are very simple things that benefit everyone in improving their sleep:

Avoid alcoholic beverages and caffeine near the time you go to sleep - caffeine will keep you awake and alcohol may make you fall asleep - but you will “rebound” and wake up several hours later

Always go to bed at the same time

Keep the bed reserved for sleep, and sexual activity - avoid working, reading and watching TV in bed

Avoid exercise for 3-4 hours prior to bedtime

Try to wake up at the same time every day

Do not sleep during the day

For more information about insomnia visit Dr. McCallister's blog. You can also find a link to Porter Hospital Sleep Quiz at porterhospital.org/sleep.