Sleep apnea can affect people regardless of sex, race, or age. However, risk factors include:

- being male

- excessive weight

- an age above 40

- large neck size (greater than 16–17 inches)

- enlarged tonsils or tongue

- small jaw bone

- gastroesophageal reflux

- allergies

- sinus problems

- a family history of sleep apnea

- deviated septum

Alcohol, sedatives and tranquilizers may also promote sleep apnea by relaxing throat muscles. Smokers have sleep apnea at three times the rate of people who have never smoked.

Central sleep apnea is more often associated with any of the following risk factors:

- being male

- an age above 65

- having heart disorders such as atrial fibrillation or atrial septal defects such as PFO

- stroke

High blood pressure is very common in people with sleep apnea.

The Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study estimated in 1993 that roughly one in every 15 Americans was affected by at least moderate sleep apnea. It also estimated that in middle-age as many as nine percent of women and 24 percent of men were affected, undiagnosed and untreated.

The costs of untreated sleep apnea reach further than just health issues. It is estimated that in the U.S. the average untreated sleep apnea patient's annual health care costs $1,336 more than an individual without sleep apnea. This may cause $3.4 billion/year in additional medical costs. Whether medical cost savings occur with treatment of sleep apnea remains to be determined.

Many studies indicate the effect of a "fight or flight" response on the body that happens with each apneic event is what increases health risks and consequences in OSA. The fight or flight response causes many hormonal changes in the body; those changes, coupled with the low oxygen saturation level of the blood, cause damage to the body over time.

Without treatment, the sleep deprivation and lack of oxygen caused by sleep apnea increases health risks such as cardiovascular disease, aortic disease (e.g. aortic aneurysm), high blood pressure, stroke, diabetes, clinical depression, weight gain and obesity.

The most serious consequence of untreated OSA is to the heart. Persons with sleep apnea have a 30% higher risk of heart attack or death than those unaffected. In severe and prolonged cases, increased in pulmonary pressures are transmitted to the right side of the heart. This can result in a severe form of congestive heart failure known as "cor pulmonale". Dyastolic function of the heart also becomes affected. One prospective study showed patients with OSA, compared with healthy controls, initially had statistically significant increases in vascular endothelial growth factor (P=.003) and significantly lower levels of nitrite-nitrate (P=.008), which might be pathogenic factors in the cardiovascular complications of OSA. These factors reversed to normal levels after 12 weeks of treatment by CPAP, but further long-term trials are needed to assess the impact of this therapy.

Elevated arterial pressure (i.e., hypertension) can be a consequence of OSA syndrome. When hypertension is caused by OSA, it is distinctive in that, unlike most cases (so-called essential hypertension), the readings do "not" drop significantly when the individual is sleeping (non-dipper) or even increase (inverted dipper).

OSA accompanied by daytime sleepiness is estimated to affect 3% to 7% of men and 2% to 5% of women, and the disease is common in both developed and developing countries. It is most commonly diagnosed in middle-aged males.

If studied carefully in a sleep lab by polysomnography (formal "sleep study"), it is believed that approximately 1 in 5 American adults would have at least mild OSA.

Among the causes of hypopnea are:

- anatomical defects such as nasal septum deformation or congenital narrowness of nasal meatus and the gullet

- acute tonsillitis and/or adenoiditis

- obesity or being overweight

- neuromuscular disease or any condition that entails weakened respiratory muscles

- hypoventilation syndromes involving compromised or failed respiratory drive

- use of sedatives e.g. sleeping pills

- alcohol abuse

- smoking

- aging

- others, most of which are also typical causes of airway obstruction, snoring and sleep apnea

Statistics on snoring are often contradictory, but at least 30% of adults and perhaps as many as 50% of people in some demographics snore. One survey of 5,713 American residents identified habitual snoring in 24% of men and 13.8% of women, rising to 60% of men and 40% of women aged 60 to 65 years; this suggests an increased susceptibility to snoring with age.

The conditions of hypoxia and hypercapnia, whether caused by apnea or not, trigger additional effects on the body. The immediate effects of central sleep apnea on the body depend on how long the failure to breathe endures, how short is the interval between failures to breathe, and the presence or absence of independent conditions whose effects amplify those of an apneic episode.

- Brain cells need constant oxygen to live, and if the level of blood oxygen remains low enough for long enough, brain damage and even death will occur. These effects, however, are rarely a result of central sleep apnea, which is a chronic condition whose effects are usually much milder.

- Drops in blood oxygen levels that are severe but not severe enough to trigger brain-cell or overall death may trigger seizures even in the absence of epilepsy.

- In severe cases of sleep apnea, the more translucent areas of the body will show a bluish or dusky cast from cyanosis, the change in hue ("turning blue") produced by the deoxygenation of blood in vessels near the skin.

- Compounding effects of independent conditions:

When infants have a lower birth weight or younger gestational age, there is a greater risk of infantile apnea. With the advancement of neonatal intensive care units and the greater technology available, there are more successful premature births compared to the past. With the greater number of premature infants being born, there is also a greater number of children with infantile apnea. Approximately 85 percent of infants born with a weight less than experience infantile apnea within the first month after birth. This risk decreases to 25 percent for infants weighing less than . Studies have found that almost 2% of the pediatric population experience obstructive sleep apnea.

People with neuromuscular disorders or hypoventilation syndromes involving failed respiratory drive experience central hypoventilation. The most common treatment for this form is the use of non-invasive ventilation such as a BPAP machine.

After a patient receives a diagnosis, the diagnosing physician can provide different options for treatment.

- Mechanical regulation of airflow and/or airway pressure:

- An experimental pacemaker for the diaphragm has shown promising results in overcoming central sleep apnea.

Among the natural remedies are exercises to increase the muscle tone of the upper airway, and one medical practitioner noting anecdotally that professional singers seldom snore, but there have been no medical studies to fully link the two.

Sleeping in a more upright position seems to lessen catathrenia (as well as sleep apnea). Performing regular aerobic exercise, where steady breathing is necessary (running, cycling etc.) may lessen catathrenia. Strength exercise, on the other hand, may worsen catathrenia because of the tendency to hold one's breath while exercising. Yoga and/or meditation focused on steady and regular breathing may lessen catathrenia.

Catathrenia is a rapid eye movement sleep parasomnia consisting of end-inspiratory apnea (breath holding) and expiratory groaning during sleep. Catathrenia is distinct from both somniloquy and obstructive sleep apnea. The sound is produced during exhalation as opposed to snoring which occurs during inhalation. It is usually not noticed by the person producing the sound but can be extremely disturbing to sleep partners. Bed partners generally report hearing the person take a deep breath, hold it, then slowly exhale; often with a high-pitched squeak or groaning sound.

Catathrenia typically, sometimes even exclusively, occurs during REM sleep, although it may also occur to a lesser degree during NREM sleep. Catathrenia begins with a deep inspiration. The sufferer holds her or his breath against a closed glottis, similar to the Valsalva maneuver. After a period of time and some blood oxygen desaturation, there is an arousal, followed by expiration. Expiration can be slow and accompanied by sound caused by vibration of the vocal cords or a simple rapid exhalation with no sound.

There is debate about whether the cause is physical or neurological, a question that requires further study. While some speculate about a direct correlation to high anxiety and stress or the concept that catathrenia is purely psychological, there is only anecdotal evidence of either proposed cause.

Catathrenia has been defined as a parasomnia in the International Classification of Sleep Disorders Diagnostic and Coding Manual (ICSD-2), but there is debate about its classification.

There are a few other similaritiesamongst catathrenia sufferers that have not yet been studied properly:

- Many catathrenia sufferers mention that they also suffer from some form of stress or anxiety in their lives.

- Sufferers themselves do not feel like they are experiencing a sleep apnea; the breath-holding appears to be controlled though the unconscious. Oxygen desaturation during a catathrenia episode is usually negligible.

- Many took part in sports activities during teens and twenties some which required breath-holding which included many types of sports such as swimming and even weight lifting. They find a certain level of comfort in breath-holding, and often do it while awake.

- Observations have been made of instances of breath holding during daily activities that require concentration.

- Some sufferers recalled suffering from lucid or stress dreams during their catathrenia episodes during their sleep.

- Some sufferers complain of having a painful chest upon waking from sleep.

Because catathrenia itself is not considered life-threatening, there has been very little research done in the medical community, and many experts assume that the way to treat catathrenia is to treat the underlying sleep apnea, though there is no conclusive evidence published that catathrenia results from sleep apnea, and sleep studies show that not all sufferers of catathrenia have been diagnosed with sleep apnea.

While doctors tend to dismiss it as an inconvenience, sufferers routinely describe the condition's highly negative effects on their daily lives including tiredness, low energy, dizziness and vertigo, work problems, relationship and social issues, and other physical and mental problems that could be associated with low sleep quality.

Waking up in the middle of the night, or nocturnal awakening, is the most frequently reported insomnia symptom, with approximately 35% of Americans over 18 reporting waking up three or more times per week. Of those who experience nocturnal awakenings, 43% report difficulty in resuming sleep after waking, while over 90% report the condition persisting for more than six months. Greater than 50% contend with MOTN conditions for more than five years.

A 2008 "Sleep in America" poll conducted by the National Sleep Foundation found that 42% of respondents awakened during the night at least a few nights a week, and 29% said they woke up too early and couldn’t get back to sleep. Other clinical studies have reported between 25% and 35% of people experience nocturnal awakenings at least three nights a week.

Since AOP is fundamentally a problem of the immaturity of the physiological systems of the premature infant, it is a self-limited condition that will resolve when these systems mature. It is unusual for an infant to continue to have significant problems with AOP beyond 42 weeks post-conceptual age.

Infants who have had AOP are at increased risk of recurrence of apnea in response to exposure to anesthetic agents, at least until around 52 weeks post-conceptual age.

There is no evidence that a history of AOP places an infant at increased risk for SIDS. However, any premature infant (regardless of whether they have had AOP) is at increased risk of SIDS. It is important that other factors related to SIDS risk be avoided (exposure to smoking, prone sleeping, excess bedding materials, etc.)

The most comprehensive assessment so far has estimated RBD prevalence to be about 0.5% in individuals aged 15 to 100. It is far more common in males: most studies report that only about a tenth of sufferers are female. This may partially be due to a referral bias, as violent activity carried out by men is more likely to result in harm and injury and is more likely to be reported than injury to male bed partners by women, or it may reflect a true difference in prevalence as a result of genetic or androgenic factors. The mean age of onset is estimated to be about 60 years.

Various conditions are very similar to RBD in that sufferers exhibit excessive sleep movement and potentially violent behavior. Such disorders include sleepwalking and sleep terrors, which are associated with other stages of sleep, nocturnal seizures and obstructive sleep apnea which can induce arousals from REM sleep associated with complex behaviors. Because of the similarities between the conditions, polysomnography plays an important role in confirming RBD diagnosis.

It is now apparent that RBD appears in association with a variety of different conditions. Narcolepsy has been reported as a related disorder. Both RBD and narcolepsy involve dissociation of sleep states probably arising from a disruption of sleep control mechanisms. RBD has also been reported following cerebrovascular accident and neurinoma (tumor), indicating that damage to the brain stem area may precipitate RBD. RBD is usually chronic. However, it may be acute and sudden in onset if associated with drug treatment or withdrawal (particularly with alcohol withdrawal). 60% of RBD is idiopathic. This includes RBD that is found in association with conditions such as Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies, where it is often seen to precede the onset of neurodegenerative disease. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, tricyclic antidepressants, Selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, and noradrenergic antagonists can induce or aggravate RBD symptoms and should be avoided in patients with RBD.

Upper airway resistance syndrome is caused when the upper airway narrows without closing. Consequently, airflow is either reduced or compensated for through an increase in inspiratory efforts. This increased activity in inspiratory muscles leads to the arousals during sleep which patients may or may not be aware of.

A typical UARS patient is not obese and possesses a triangular face and misaligned jaw, which can result in a smaller amount of space behind the base of the tongue. Patients may have other anatomical abnormalities that can cause UARS such as deviated septum or nasal valve collapse. UARS affects equal numbers of males and females. It is unclear as to whether UARS is merely a phase that occurs between simple snoring and sleep apneas, or whether UARS is a syndrome that describes a deviation from normal upper airway physiology.

Children with UARS may experience symptoms due to minor anomalies of the facial bones or due to enlarged tonsils or adenoids.

Apnea of prematurity occurs in at least 85 percent of infants who are born at less than 34 weeks of gestation. The incidence is inversely related to the gestational maturity of the infant, but has considerable individual variability.

Histamine plays a role in wakefulness in the brain. An allergic reaction over produces histamine causing wakefulness and inhibiting sleep Sleep problems are common in people with allergic rhinitis. A study from the N.I.H. found that sleep is dramatically impaired by allergic symptoms and that the degree of impairment is related to the severity of those symptoms s Treatment of allergies has also been shown to help sleep apnea.

There is some evidence that a predisposition to night terrors and other parasomnias may be congenital. Individuals frequently report that past family members have had either episodes of sleep terrors or sleepwalking. In some studies, a ten-fold increase in the prevalence of night terrors in first-degree biological relatives has been observed—however, the exact link to inheritance is not known. Familial aggregation has been found suggesting that there is an autosomal mode of inheritance. In addition, some laboratory findings suggest that sleep deprivation and having a fever can increase the likelihood of a night terror episode occurring. Other contributing factors include nocturnal asthma, gastroesophageal reflux, and central nervous system medications. Special consideration must be used when the subject suffers from narcolepsy, as there may be a link. There have been no findings that show a cultural difference between manifestations of night terrors, though it is thought that the significance and cause of night terrors differ within cultures. Evidence suggests that nightmares are more common among women than men.

Also, older children and adults provide highly detailed and descriptive images associated with their sleep terrors compared to younger children, who either cannot recall or only vaguely remember. Sleep terrors in children are also more likely to occur in males than females; in adults, the ratio between sexes is equal. A longitudinal study examined twins, both identical and fraternal, and found that a significantly higher concordance rate of night terror was found in identical twins than in fraternal.

Though the symptoms of night terrors in adolescents and adults are similar, their causes, prognoses, and treatments are qualitatively different. There is some evidence that suggests that night terrors can occur if the sufferer does not eat a proper diet, does not get the appropriate amount or quality of sleep (e.g., because of sleep apnea), or is enduring stressful events. Adults who have experienced sexual abuse are more likely to receive a diagnosis of sleep disorders, including night terrors. Overall, though, adult night terrors are much less common and often respond best to treatments that rectify causes of poor quality or quantity of sleep.

Several circumstances have been identified that are associated with an increased risk of sleep paralysis. These include insomnia, sleep deprivation, an erratic sleep schedule, stress, and physical fatigue. It is also believed that there may be a genetic component in the development of RISP, because there is a high concurrent incidence of sleep paralysis in monozygotic twins. Sleeping in the supine position has been found an especially prominent instigator of sleep paralysis.

Sleeping in the supine position is believed to make the sleeper more vulnerable to episodes of sleep paralysis because in this sleeping position it is possible for the soft palate to collapse and obstruct the airway. This is a possibility regardless of whether the individual has been diagnosed with sleep apnea or not. There may also be a greater rate of microarousals while sleeping in the supine position because there is a greater amount of pressure being exerted on the lungs by gravity.

While many factors can increase risk for ISP or RISP, they can be avoided with minor lifestyle changes. By maintaining a regular sleep schedule and observing good sleep hygiene, one can reduce chances of sleep paralysis. It helps subjects to reduce the intake of stimulants and stress in daily life by taking up a hobby or seeing a trained psychologist who can suggest coping mechanisms for stress. However, some cases of ISP and RISP involve a genetic factor—which means some people may find sleep paralysis unavoidable. Practicing meditation regularly might also be helpful in preventing fragmented sleep, and thus the occurrence of sleep paralysis. Research has shown that long-term meditation practitioners spend more time in slow wave sleep, and as such regular meditation practice could reduce nocturnal arousal and thus possibly sleep paralysis.

Although "there has been no cure of chronic hypersomnia", there are several treatments that may improve patients' quality of life, depending on the specific cause or causes of hypersomnia that are diagnosed.

Behavioral modifications include getting at least 7–8 hours of sleep and lifestyle changes to help weight loss to help reduce or eliminate symptoms. Positional therapy also has helped many patients ease their UARS symptoms. Sleeping on one's side rather than in a supine position or using positional pillows can provide relief, but these modifications may not be sufficient to treat more severe cases. Avoiding sedatives including alcohol and narcotics can help prevent the relaxation of airway muscles, and thereby reduce the chance of their collapse. Avoiding sedatives may also help to reduce snoring.

Nocturnal awakenings are more common in older patients and have been associated with depressive disorders, chronic pain, obstructive sleep apnea, obesity, alcohol consumption, hypertension, gastroesophageal reflux disease, heart disease, menopause, prostate problems, and bipolar disorders.

Nocturnal awakenings can be mistaken as shift work disorder.

Mixed apnea is a combination of both central and obstructive factors. The majority of premature infants with sleep apnea have mixed apnea.