Sleep apnea can have major consequences if not treated. Learn if you’re showing signs of this common sleep disorder.

Published: March 7, 2019 | Updated: February 6, 2025

Estimated reading time: 2 minutes

Snoring and sleep apnea

Sleep apnea affects millions of people in the U.S. each year. Luckily, it is among the easiest sleep disorders to treat.

Sleep apnea symptoms include loud snoring, excessive daytime sleepiness and fatigue. People suffering from sleep apnea stop breathing repeatedly during sleep — as many as several hundred times a night. This results in multiple awakenings, which may cause sleepiness during waking hours. Sleep apnea can have major consequences if not treated. Headaches, high blood pressure, heart arrhythmia, heart attack and stroke have been associated with sleep apnea.

The following are just a few examples of how treating sleep apnea can positively affect your overall health.

• Sleep apnea is a risk factor for high blood pressure. Treating it can improve blood pressure levels.
• Treating sleep apnea can improve your overall mood and decrease symptoms of depression.
• Treating sleep apnea can improve congestive heart failure.
• Sexual dysfunction in men can improve when sleep apnea is properly treated.
• Treating sleep apnea can decrease the severity of acid reflux disease.
• Blood sugar control can improve with treatment of sleep apnea.

Do you have sleep apnea?

Screening and treating sleep apnea are now considered part of a routine preventive sleep medicine program and should be part of any regular physical exam.

Take the quiz below to assess your sleep habits. Share the results with your health care provider, or call your nearest Norton Sleep Center at (502) 559-5559 to find out more about diagnosis and treatment.

Sleep Apnea Quiz

Answer each question. Your score will appear at the end of the survey, then learn more about what your score means in the scoring guide.