What is Sleep Apnea: Sleep apnea is a potentially serious sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts. If you snore loudly and feel tired even after a full night'ssleep, you might have sleep apnea. The main types ofsleep apnea are: Obstructive sleep apnea, the more common form that occurs when throat muscles relax.  What Speep Apnea can do to You: There is evidence that long-term sleep-disordered breathing can have important health consequences. It may increase the incidence of high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, and heart problems. ... In short, untreated sleep apnea can kill you.

Symptoms:

The signs and symptoms of obstructive and central sleep apneas overlap, sometimes making it difficult to determine which type you have. The most common signs and symptoms of obstructive and central sleep apneas include:

• Loud snoring
• Episodes in which you stop breathing during sleep — which would be reported by another person
• Gasping for air during sleep
• Awakening with a dry mouth
• Morning headache
• Difficulty staying asleep (insomnia)
• Excessive daytime sleepiness (hypersomnia)
• Difficulty paying attention while awake
• Irritability