Kathleen Santor teaches a UNLV class stressing nonmedical insomnia treatments at the Stress Management Center of Nevada. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky. Kathleen Santor teaches a UNLV class stressing nonmedical insomnia treatments at the Stress Management Center of Nevada. Photo by Jane Kalinowsky.

The lights are low and the air conditioning high at the Stress Management Center of Nevada in Henderson, and a pot of Taster's Choice in the lobby goes entirely untouched.

"That's it, take that deep breath in and let it go," says Kathleen Santor, a registered yoga teacher and licensed marriage and family therapist.

The lesson is in yogic breathing, part of a University of Nevada, Las Vegas community education class called "Sweet Dreams." It has attracted five Las Vegas residents losing sleep over a common but nagging problem -- losing sleep.

"When I've had a bad week of sleep, it affects everything," says Lance Cangey, a 39-year-old pro shop owner. "My short-term memory is gone. It affects my exercise. I'm more irritable -- way more irritable. And it just compounds itself, like a spiral downward. One night's bad and you hope the next night's better, but it's not."

Most people have the occasional restless night. But for some, like Cangey, the affliction is chronic.

"I've had it since I was a child," he says. "Sometimes it's three times a week, sometimes a month straight."

According to a recent National Sleep Foundation poll, one in five American adults has trouble falling to sleep on a regular basis, and one in three has trouble staying asleep. More than half of the respondents reported at least one symptom of insomnia at least a few nights a week.

Scientists aren't sure why we sleep, but they know what happens when we don't.

"You get immune deficiency," says Robert Troell, medical director of Sleep Logistics, one of 15 valley sleep clinics. "After 30 days, rats get immune-system suppression. And after 45, they actually die."

And insomnia gets worse with age.

"When you get older, you get more sleep fragmentation," Troell says. "You wake up more often without being able to fall back asleep. Older people are more likely to have muscular-skeletal pain, anxiety, dementia and depression. Those things will all make insomnia worse."

Insomniacs should be examined for dangerous underlying conditions such as heart, hormonal and digestive diseases, and the deadly breathing disorder known as sleep apnea.

"But if the reason you're not sleeping is because you're stressed out, I don't think Ambien is what you need," Santor says. "You need to learn to relax."

Las Vegas isn't exactly known for its conduciveness to relaxation. The 24-hour lure of the Strip glows as brightly as its lights and tens of thousands of swing-shift workers struggle against revolving schedules that contradict the body's built-in inclination to rise with the sun.

"The shift work is hard on people," Santor says, "and Las Vegas is a very high-energy city where there's always a lot to do. But I think people can live anywhere and put themselves on a routine that helps them relax."

Santor's recommendations closely resemble the sleep hygiene guidelines prescribed by Troell and other sleep doctors.

"There are also things to do to train your nervous system to be able to relax," she says, which is where the yogic breathing comes in.

Surprisingly, Troell -- who is board-certified in sleep medicine and trained at Stanford University's sleep clinic, the first in the world -- does not disagree with this Eastern approach to healing.

"I recommend yoga, going to a counselor, anything," he says. "You might even want to go to a financial officer. Whatever program or endeavor you want to do to try and decrease stress, I don't care what it is, we recommend doing."

If your problem is staying asleep, both experts suggest to get out of bed and read a dull book in dim light.

"If you stay in bed, you're gonna get frustrated and angry and you release stress hormones that won't let you get back to sleep," Troell says.

If all else fails, both experts agree, sleeping pills are probably the unavoidable answer.

"If you've got a medical problem and you can't sleep, then you need medication," Santor says. "But you should probably talk with your doctor about trying natural, herbal supplements first. There are a lot of them for stress, calming and sleep."

She mentions valerien root and good old warm milk.

"I don't know of any studies showing that warm milk has actually helped," Troell says. "Tryptophan, which is in turkey, has definitely been shown to increase sleepiness. But the amount of tryptophan in milk is mild."

As for valerian root, Troell says, "Hey, what the heck?"

At the end of class, Santor hands out a sheet of paper containing an ancient Tibetan prayer.

"May I be filled with loving kindness," it says. "May I be well. May I be peaceful and at ease. May I be happy."

Ultimately, Cangey reports he was not helped by what he paid $25 to hear.

"It was very general, and I need help that's a little more specific," he says.

Cangey says he has no plans to seek other treatment for his insomnia.

"I don't know, I'll probably just suffer through it," he says. "It's nothing I'm not used to."