In people who snore, sometimes breathing ceases or gets interrupted for few seconds before regaining the normal pattern. These breathing pauses typically last between 10 to 20 seconds and are known as "Aponec Spells" and can occur upto hundreds of times a night, jolting you out of your natural sleep rhythm. Sleep Apnea is fairly common. One in five adults have at-least mild sleep apnea and one in 15 adults have at-least moderate sleep apnea. OSA also affects 1% to 3% of children.
During sleep, the upper airway can be obstructed by excess tissue, large tonsils, Adenoids in children and sometimes a large tongue. Also contributing to the problem may be the airway muscles, which relax and collapse during sleep, nasal passages, and the position of the jaw. As a consequence, when you get up in the morning you feel groggy and no longer feel fresh and often falling asleep during day sometimes leading to road traffic accidents while driving a vehicle.