You're not alone if you do have sleep problems. About 15 percent of the population has a chronic sleep disorder. Some disorders, like insomnia, the inability to sleep, are more recognizable. But others are harder to diagnose because patients think they're getting a lot of sleep, even though they're still tired. One of the more common sleep disorders is sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is the interruption of breathing during sleep.
It's most common in overweight men. Apnea sufferers usually snore loudly. They stop breathing several times during the night, which wakes them up enough to get them started breathing again. Because of waking up repeatedly during the night, they don't get much rest during the night, even though they get to bed on time and seem to get plenty of sleep. If you have trouble sleeping or if you feel tired during the day even when you're getting to bed on time, doctors at UT Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas say you should talk to your doctor.