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Can you name at least one of the three people who hosted USA Up All Night? Have you ever watched an infomercial all the way through? Are you aware that a night spent in bed with the sheets twisted around your legs while you change position frequently and groan and sigh at regular intervals isn't always something to brag to your friends about? If you answered yes to any of the above questions, then you might be suffering from insomnia. Other symptoms of insomnia include difficulty falling asleep, waking often during the night, and waking up earlier than you want to in the morning.
Sleep apnea is very common, and most people who have the occasional case would probably never know the difference if not for the testimony of frightened bed mates. Sleep apnea is an extended period of time (10 seconds or more) between breaths when you are sleeping. If someone is lying next to you, counting the minutes until dawn, it may seem to them that you have died. With any luck, this is not the case, and you take that next, rattling breath. Those extended periods without air can add up to a loss of oxygen in your blood, often cause you to wake gasping for air, and can make your waking life drowsy.
I used to snore. Loudly. So I know what it is to be the person looked at with scorn every morning, or told to roll over, or even given a swift elbow in the middle of the night. My father used to snore loudly as well. He got a surgery to fix his deviated septum to help him breathe, taste, and stop snoring. I haven't lived with him for a while, so I don't know if he snores anymore or not. I had my tonsils and my uvula removed, and I've been told that helped, too. And that's just the thing, most people who snore don't know they snore unless someone else is sleeping with them, leaving many cases of sleep apnea untreated.