People who have the misfortune to snore frequently or have obstructive sleep apnea suffer from sleep deprivation which can affect your daily life as well. The longer that you have the symptoms of sleep apnea the more that you will start to see how it impacts your work or studying in school.
Because you are awakening frequently during the night you are not getting a good night's rest. Each episode of snoring causes your air flow to be blocked for ten seconds or more causing you to try to catch your breath. This can be repeated for some people hundreds of times during a single night.
Sleep deprivation from snoring or sleep apnea can lead to irritability but more concerning is that it can lead to more serious health concerns. Often depression ensues when you have continued sleep deprivation that leads to a decline in your mental functioning because you have been deprived of not only your sleep but also of oxygen during those frequent snoring episodes.
The loud snoring does not necessarily mean you have sleep apnea but it can certainly lead to that if it continues for long periods of time over weeks and months instead of once a week. You will experience headaches and daytime drowsiness and can increase chances of a heart attack especially if you also have other risk factors like smoking, aging, high cholesterol or high blood pressure or diabetes.
If you feel you might have all the classic symptoms of sleep apnea you should seek a physician's advice to determine the extent of the problem. Sleep deprivation that goes untreated will affect your ability to work effectively or study or listen during classes making a health problem even more significant if it goes untreated. So don't delay getting an expert opinion so that you can remedy the situation immediately.