7 Symptoms That You Don’t Breathe Well While Asleep

SLEEP APNEA SIGNAL: YOU’RE TIRED ALL THE TIME

Exhaustion is one of the biggest symptoms of sleep apnea. When you stop breathing and your brain sends out its distress call, you’re actually waking up–even if you don’t realize it.

“Your brain has to be awake for a full 30 seconds in order to recognize that it’s actually awake,” says Michael Breus, M.D., a fellow of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and SleepScore Labs advisory board member.

But waking up—even if it’s just for a few seconds—can disrupt your sleep cycles, leaving you more exhausted the next morning.

Now, exhaustion is pretty nonspecific, and it’s common in lots of other conditions. That’s why doctors look for a constellation of other symptoms (see below), which can help signal that your exhaustion may be apnea-related.