Sleep Disturber is a term used to describe any type of disruption that can interfere with a person's ability to get a good night's sleep. Common sleep distrubers include apnea, which is a disorder characterized by pauses in breathing during sleep; nightmares, which are vivid and often frightening dreams; snoring, which is the sound of air passing through the back of the throat; alarms, which can be set to wake someone up at a certain time; and NOISE, which can be anything from loud music to traffic outside.