Teenagers are often labeled as lazy and disrespectful when they fall asleep in class, but for some, that sleepiness is a symptom of an underlying sleep disorder known as obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Obstructive sleep apnea, where breathing stops repeatedly during sleep, affects an estimated 54 million people in the United States alone. Signs and symptoms, such as daytime sleepiness, snoring, morning headaches, and mood changes, are often overlooked or mistaken for something else, even by healthcare providers. Perhaps most alarming, around 80% of people living with OSA remain undiagnosed.
A very sleepy teen
As a teenager, Edgar Castro Tello experienced frequent exhaustion and sleepiness during the day, but he didn’t know why.
“Many times, I would get home from school and just sleep. Wake up, do my homework, and then go back to sleep,” Tello said. “That’s how exhausting it was just to be active during the day. Every day felt like a struggle.”
It wasn’t until years later that Tello received his diagnosis of OSA — a revelation that brought both clarity and validation.
“I got diagnosed at the age of 25, and it started to really connect the dots as to why I was feeling the way I was the entire time,” he said.
Now, at age 34, Tello feels more energized throughout the day. He treats his sleep apnea using a CPAP machine, which delivers pressurized air through a face mask to hold his airway open as he sleeps. When Tello first met his partner, Frankie, he told him about his CPAP therapy, a detail that left Frankie genuinely surprised.
“I had no idea what sleep apnea was. I had no idea there was a machine you could hook up to,” Frankie said.
Frankie’s reaction is not uncommon. Awareness of sleep apnea is still surprisingly low. Many members of the general public, and even healthcare providers without specialized training in sleep medicine, aren’t familiar with the signs and symptoms of sleep apnea.
As a result, sleep apnea often goes undetected in teens, instead misattributed to laziness, moodiness, or growing pains.
A doctor and a patient
Dr. Christopher Allen first recognized the signs of OSA in himself while attending a lecture in medical school. As a student learning about sleep disorders, the symptoms struck a familiar chord.
“I was always that kid in high school that no one wanted to share a room with on trips because I snored too loudly,” Dr. Allen said. “Sometimes, I would fall asleep in class, and people would make fun of me.”
Dr. Allen was diagnosed with OSA in college after participating in a sleep research study as a student. He began using a CPAP machine at night shortly after, and the difference was clear, as he saw changes in his ability to function throughout the day.
“I’m really glad I’m on CPAP therapy because I’m alert,” he said. “I can go through the whole day being productive.”
Dr. Allen is now able to pay it forward by helping sleepy teens in his practice, Quality Sleep & Neurology.
“It is extremely fulfilling to be able to get sleepy teens the help I didn’t have when I was their age,” he said. “Having experienced these symptoms myself, I have a lot of empathy and understanding for what they are going through.”
Low energy and brain fog
OSAis not limited only to teenage boys; girls can also be affected. For Kristen Cascio, the signs were also apparent during her teenage years — low energy, brain fog, morning headaches — but OSA wasn’t even on her radar.
“I just dealt with it because I had to rush off to school,” she said.
Like many others who go undiagnosed for years, Cascio assumed her symptoms were simply part of being a typical teenager.
“I was diagnosed when I was 31, but I really remember being very tired and low energy all throughout the day as young as 16 years old,” she said.
Cascio is now a clinical social worker and has reframed her experiences as a sleepy teen. She uses her lived experience to validate not only her younger self but also other teens who may be quietly struggling.
“It really is great to normalize things — that, looking back, you weren’t just a procrastinator or lazy,” she said.
Cascio, Tello, and Dr. Allen all first experienced symptoms of sleep apnea as teenagers, but like so many others, they went years without answers. It wasn’t until adulthood that they finally received a diagnosis and began treatment that changed their lives.
Through Project Sleep’s “Sleep Apnea: Let’s Face It!” awareness campaign, all three are speaking out to shift the narrative. By sharing their stories, they hope to empower more young people to recognize the signs, ask questions, and seek help sooner than they did. To learn more about sleep apnea, visit project-sleep.com.
