10 Terrifying Things That Can Happen To You Whilst Sleeping

The most dangerous sleep occurrence on this list is sleep apnea. This is a recognised serious sleep disorder and often occurs to those who are loud snorers or already have blockages in their breathing. It refers to the sleeper stopping their breathing regularly throughout the night for an irregular length of time, which stops the flow of oxygen and can cause potentially serious health issues down the line.

There are three types of medically recognised sleep apnea: obstructive (the most common form in which the throat relaxes), central (occurs when your brain does not send the correct signals to breathe), and complex (where a person suffers from both obstructive and central).

Without another person around to notice the irregularity in the breathing, sufferers can also be diagnosed if they report a dry mouth when waking up, tiredness, morning headaches or waking during the night to try and gasp for air.

Males over 40 are the most common bracket to be diagnosed with sleep apnea, along with those who may suffer with obesity. It can, however, be seen in children in rare cases.