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Moss-Tucker remembers being drowsy during the day sometimes, but she blamed it on her busy life. When researchers at the sleep lab asked if she had ever fallen asleep while driving, she laughed initially. But then she recalled long drives during which she'd had to pull over every 45 minutes to take a cat nap to avoid dozing off at the wheel. She'd also become accustomed to taking daily 25-minute naps each afternoon. But once she was diagnosed and began using a Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (or CPAP) machine, the most common treatment for sleep apnea, she says, "My life changed."

Moss-Tucker no longer needed naps and her energy levels, mental clarity and general moods improved—so much so that she cannot imagine one night without the CPAP, a machine with a mask that attaches to the nose, mouth or both, helping to force oxygen into the airway while the patient sleeps. If it's used properly, it is nearly 100 percent effective. But CPAPs (or BiPaps, which deliver alternating levels of oxygen), which cost about $500 or more with the mask, can be cumbersome to use and the noise may be as disruptive to sleeping partners as snoring. That can be a major factor in compliance.  Despite its efficacy, estimates of overall long-term usage rates remain between 50 to 70 percent.

For snorers who don't appear to have sleep apnea, there are other measures to avoid bad nights. They include: avoiding big meals and sedating drugs like antihistamines and alcohol before bed; sleeping on one's side instead of the back; treating conditions like allergies and colds that can cause or worsen snoring, and maintaining a healthy weight.

There are also devices, like the one Moss-Tucker tried without success, which push the lower jaw forward to help keep the airway open. "They are effective in a fair number of snoring cases," says NYU's Rapoport, but he cautions that they need to be custom fitted by dentist and can be expensive if not covered by insurance.

Surgery to widen the airways or improve nasal airflow is also an option, though it too may not be covered by insurance and success rates vary. UPPP (or Uvulopalatopharngoplasty), in which a surgeon removes tissue at the back of the throat, can require a hospital stay and a long recovery; it's typically used for patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnea. But other procedures can be performed under local anesthesia in a surgeon's office, including laser-assisted uvulopalatoplasty (or LAUP), a modification of UPPP in which the surgeon uses a laser to cut the uvula. Patients who get LAUP can generally resume their normal routine almost immediately afterward, but they may require up to five treatments. Somnoplasty is another short office-based procedure; it uses low-power radiofrequency energy that reduces the volume of the soft palate tissue (located at the back of the roof of the mouth) but may require more than one session. Nasal surgery may also be recommended for those with obstructions in the nose. Another treatment is the Pillar procedure, in which three tiny inserts are injected into the soft palate to offer support. Since it's a newer procedure only approved by the FDA in August 2004, there's less long-term data. "Studies are showing it does work—but to what extent is not really known yet," says Rapoport.  With several options but no magic bullet, experts say it's important to have a full medical examination to determine the best course of action. But as long as snoring is seen as more of a joke than a risk,even that step may be too large for some.

Correction (published March 28, 2008): The procedure, UPPP (or Uvulopalatopharngoplasty), in which a surgeon removes tissue at the back of the throat, is typically used for patients with moderate, not severe, obstructive sleep apnea, as this article originally stated.

With reporting by Temma Ehrenfeld

© 2008