Seen in all age groups, and both sexes, this under-recognized problem can contribute to high blood pressure, and an increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.

A number of other symptoms that can be associated with sleep apnea, and that are often not recognized as such, include headaches on awakening, dry mouth on awakening, sweating during sleep, difficulty staying asleep, waking frequently during the night to urinate, mood and memory problems, worsened heartburn and reflux at night, and sexual dysfunction.

The disorder is characterized by obstruction of the upper airway (typically at the level of the throat) that reduces partially, or completely, the flow of air through the throat into the lungs.

This process is associated with an increase in breathing effort, and typically a drop in the body’s blood oxygen level, resulting in an arousal, or awakening from sleep.

Those with the disorder often complain of being tired and worn out, and not being refreshed by sleep, that results from their sleep being interrupted up to hundreds of times in a night, even without the affected person being aware of these interruptions. Though seen most often in those who are overweight, thin persons are also affected.

Does This Sound Like You?

• Are you irritable or depressed?
• Have you fallen asleep at the wheel?
• Do you have high blood pressure?

You may have sleep apnea.

This is not a happy scenario: You're soooo tired. As soon as your head hits the pillow, you're asleep.

But a little while later, someone nudges you awake.

You go back to sleep. Just as you get into a deep sleep, you're nudged again.

Sleep ... nudge ... sleep ... nudge.

All night long.

The next day, you might wake up with a headache, snap at your family over breakfast, have trouble concentrating at work.

Irritability. Car accidents. Depression. High blood pressure. All because of those nightmarish nudges throughout the night.

If you have Obstructive Sleep Apnea syndrome (OSA), you're getting those nudges. It's your body fighting for air. And sleep apnea may be one explanation for difficulty in controlling blood glucose and blood pressure levels.

Snoring may seem comical, but obstructive sleep apnea is no joke. It can increase your risk of high blood pressure and diabetes -- and even make you more dangerous on the road.

New research adds more evidence to the link between sleep problems and metabolic disorders like diabetes.

Moderate and severe obstructive sleep apnea are predictors of Type 2 diabetes, according to a new study presented at the ATS 2012 International Conference.

Researchers also found that the sleep condition and night-time hypoxemia (low oxygen levels in the blood) were linked with levels of glycosylated hemoglobin (HbA1c), associated with diabetes.

A recent study from researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Medicine showed that sleep-disordered breathing -- which includes obstructive sleep apnea -- is linked with an increased risk of dying from cancer. 

And an animal study earlier this year also demonstrated how sleep apnea can affect the brain's blood vessels -- by decreasing the "cerebral vessel dilatory function" (another way of saying that the blood vessels don't work as well as they're supposed to, which is a risk factor for stroke).

The increased risk for health problems linked to sleep apnea can be scary, but effective treatment for sleep apnea is available.

There are various treatments for OSA including continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), oral appliances, surgery and weight loss.

In most cases, a sleep specialist will recommend a machine known as CPAP. Although it can take some getting used to, people who use CPAP feel better and are healthier.

CPAP is the principal and most effective and widely used means of treating sleep apnea. While you are asleep, this system delivers air into your airway through a specially designed mask. This creates enough pressure that keeps the airway open and produces immediate relief from sleep apnoea. A CPAP machine does not breath for you and you breathe as normal while using a CPAP machine.

CPAP therapy is NOT a cure for sleep apnea rather a treatment that controls the problem so long as the device is used.