I have just had a sleep study ad was told that durin REM sleep, I stopped breathing 28 times in an hour (16 times while lying on my back; for an average of 9 times per hour). The doc said he was really concerned by one of the stop-breathing episodes, when I stopped breathing for 177 seconds (3 second shy of 3 full minutes). I have occasionally awaken and am gasping for air--is this probably the result of one of these prolonged stop-breathing episodes? What causes someone to just stop breathing for such a long period of time? How many minutes can one stop breathing before brain, heart, and/or lung damage occurs? I am scheduled for a CPAP study in the near future.