id="article-body" class="row" section="article-body"> Ghislain & Marie David de Lossy/Getty You know the consequences of not getting enough sleep: mood swings, crabbiness, cravings, difficulty focusing and sluggishness. And when you don't know why you can't get enough sleep, the symptoms become even more frustrating. The culprits behind sleepless nights range from blue light to parasites -- but you might be dealing with something more serious: sleep apnea.

An estimated 22 million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a sleep disorder that causes you to momentarily stop breathing while you're asleep. With sleep apnea, your airway becomes blocked when your body relaxes during sleep, limiting your lungs to little air flow.

Characterized by loud snoring and often choking noises, sleep apnea causes your brain and body to become oxygen-deprived, often leading to frequent awakenings throughout the night. Depending on the case, it could happen a few times per night or hundreds of times each