Sleep apnea is extremely common, but it’s also commonly overlooked among patients. In some cases, mild sleep apnea may go unnoticed, especially if there’s no partner around to notice some of the signs. However, moderate-to-severe sleep apnea can sometimes be clearer, which can be the nudge you need to get testing.
This page will walk you through what sleep apnea is, the long-term risks of untreated sleep apnea, and 5 common signs that it may be time to get tested for this condition.
Sleep apnea: what is it?
Sleep apnea is a condition in which you stop breathing, or your breathing becomes very shallow, throughout your sleep, briefly lowering your blood oxygen and disrupting your rest. Each pause lasts at least 10 seconds, and how often they happen determines whether sleep apnea is mild, moderate, or severe.
Sleep apnea also tends to travel with other conditions – for example, acid reflux – where the two can aggravate each other.
One of the most challenging parts of sleep apnea is that you may not even realize that you have it for several months or even years, because it happens while you’re asleep. Testing is the only way to know for sure.
Risks associated with untreated sleep apnea
Sleep apnea can cause restlessness and fatigue in its mild forms, but when left untreated, its severity will not necessarily change, per se. The bigger concern is what can happen over time: because your body experiences repeated dips in oxygen and disrupted sleep, untreated sleep apnea is associated with a range of health problems, including:
- High blood pressure, heart disease, irregular heart rhythms, and stroke
- Type 2 diabetes
- Memory or concentration problems
- Ongoing daytime fatigue and a higher risk of drowsy-driving crashes
- Liver disease
Of course, these types of things won’t happen immediately, but it’s clear how important it is to get this condition diagnosed and treated.
5 signs that you may already have sleep apnea
When you’re being questioned about whether or not you may have sleep apnea by your healthcare practitioner, they may use screening questionnaires to estimate your risk, such as the STOP-BANG questionnaire, which covers some of the common symptoms of sleep apnea:
1.) Snoring
The most common and recognizable sign of sleep apnea is loud, nightly snoring.
It’s worth knowing that snoring on its own isn’t specific – plenty of people snore without having sleep apnea. What raises the concern is loud snoring combined with the other signs below.
Sleeping on your back tends to make snoring and sleep apnea worse, so changing your sleep position can sometimes help.
2.) Breathing pauses while sleeping
Each time you stop breathing, or your breathing becomes very shallow while you’re sleeping, we call these ‘apnea episodes’. By definition, these last at least 10 seconds, and in more severe cases they can last considerably longer.
This sign is often unnoticed unless you have a partner, because you’re asleep when it happens. It can sometimes be accompanied by a short gasp or snort when you resume breathing.
3.) Waking up gasping for air
In more severe cases, these apnea episodes can actively disrupt your sleep, which may startle you awake. This can be quite jarring, especially because in some cases the person may wake up feeling like they’re choking or can’t take a deep breath.
These episodes are particularly hard on your cardiovascular system because they often trigger a surge of stress hormones and a racing heart, which makes it additionally challenging to fall back asleep and compounds feelings of fatigue the following day.
That’s why in many cases, PAP therapy is one of the most effective treatments, because it forces your airway to stay open while sleeping, reducing the opportunity for full blockage or partial blockages to occur.
4.) Waking throughout the night to urinate
Even if you don’t wake up with a jarring or choking sensation, sleep apnea is known to cause patients to wake frequently throughout the night to urinate, when they may not have needed to wake up yet. This is called nocturia, and it’s a less commonly discussed symptom of sleep apnea.The disrupted sleep and pressure changes in the chest during apneas can signal the kidneys to make more urine at night.
Because it feels like an ordinary bathroom trip, many people assume it’s just a normal habit and don’t connect it to a sleep problem — which can delay getting tested. Treating the sleep apnea often reduces these nighttime awakenings.
5.) Chronic daytime fatigue
Are you tired every day? No matter how long you sleep, do you wake up feeling like you’ve been awake all night working? Excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue are among the most common reasons people with sleep apnea seek help.
The good news is that you don’t have to just accept that you’re going to walk around feeling like a zombie from now on. There are sleep apnea treatment options available that may help you find relief, start sleeping better, and therefore increase your energy levels – but you’ll need to get tested for sleep apnea to see if this is a contributing factor.
That means talking to your healthcare practitioner about it.
When should I talk to my healthcare practitioner about sleep apnea?
As soon as you or your partner feel there’s a chance that you may have sleep apnea, it’s a good idea to talk to your healthcare practitioner.
Arranging a sleep study is the first step towards getting relief if sleep apnea is contributing to your symptoms.
If you’ve received a diagnosis of OSA, options may include a CPAP (or other PAP) machine, oral appliances, positional therapy, weight management, and surgery. It all starts by talking to your practitioner about what options are appropriate for you.
With Felix in your corner, you can build a practical plan that will put you on the path to better health and quality of life, so you can get back to living life on your terms – the way it should be.
References
- Veasey SC, Rosen IM. Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults. N Engl J Med. 2019;380(15):1442–1449. (Supports: signs/symptoms table including nocturia and morning headache, back-sleeping worsens OSA, ~3× motor-vehicle-crash risk, cardiovascular/diabetes/stroke associations.) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30970189/
- Chung F, Abdullah HR, Liao P. STOP-Bang Questionnaire: A Practical Approach to Screen for Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Chest. 2016;149(3):631–638. (Supports: STOP-BANG is an 8-item screening tool; score ≥3 sensitivity ~93% for moderate–severe OSA; risk stratification, not diagnosis.) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26378880/
- Lastra AC, Neborak JM, Mokhlesi B. Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. JAMA Intern Med. 2025. (Supports: STOP-BANG as validated screen; identifies who should proceed to a sleep study.)
- Feltner C, Wallace IF, Aymes S, et al. Screening for Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults: Updated Evidence Report and Systematic Review for the US Preventive Services Task Force. JAMA. 2022;328(19):1951–1971. (Supports: STOP-BANG item content and screening performance/variable specificity.) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36378203/
- Gawrys B, Silva TW, Herness J. Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults: Common Questions and Answers. Am Fam Physician. 2024;110(1):43–51. (Supports: OSA as independent risk factor for hypertension, atrial fibrillation, heart failure, coronary disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke; severity–mortality relationship.)
- Javaheri S, Javaheri S, Somers VK, et al. Interactions of Obstructive Sleep Apnea With the Pathophysiology of Cardiovascular Disease, Part 1: JACC State-of-the-Art Review. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2024;84(13):1208–1223. (Supports: apnea defined as cessation of breathing ≥10 seconds; nocturia mechanism via atrial natriuretic peptide; symptom list.)
- Di Bello F, Napolitano L, Abate M, et al. Nocturia and Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: A Systematic Review. Sleep Med Rev. 2023;69:101787. (Supports: nocturia is a recognized OSA symptom that increases with OSA severity.) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37167825/
- Vrooman OPJ, van Balken MR, van Koeveringe GA, et al. The effect of continuous positive airway pressure on nocturia in patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome. Neurourol Urodyn. 2020;39(4):1124–1133. (Supports: nighttime frequency reported in 52–77% depending on severity; negative intrathoracic pressure → ANP → nocturnal polyuria; improvement with CPAP.)
- Mesarwi OA, Loomba R, Malhotra A. Obstructive Sleep Apnea, Hypoxia, and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease. Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019;199(7):830–841. (Supports: intermittent hypoxia as proposed mechanism linking OSA to fatty liver disease.) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30422676/
- Jia X, Zou C, Lu N, Lu Q, Xie C. Obstructive Sleep Apnea Is Related to Metabolic Dysfunction-Associated Steatotic Liver Disease in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. Sci Rep. 2025. (Supports: dose–response between OSA severity and MASLD severity.) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40634410/
- Yeghiazarians Y, Jneid H, Tietjens JR, et al. Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association. Circulation. 2021;144(3):e56–e67. (Supports: cardiovascular consequences of untreated OSA.) – https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34148375/
