People with sleep apnea actually experience oxygen deprivation during their sleep. Loud snoring, waking up gasping or choking, dry mouth or a sore throat on waking up, morning headache, excessive drowsiness during the day, lack of concentration, mood swings, depression, forgetfulness, chronic fatigue, high blood pressure, swelling in the legs etc are the common signs and symptoms of sleep apnea.
Note: Snoring is probably the best and most obvious indicator, but not everyone who snores has apnoea, and not everyone with apnoea necessarily snores (though most do).