Final answer:
Chronic sleep debt is most likely to contribute to insomnia, which is characterized by persistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep. Sleep apnea is a separate respiratory disorder and is not caused by sleep debt, though it can contribute to it by interrupting sleep and reducing sleep quality.
Step-by-step explanation:
Chronic sleep debt is a term used to describe the cumulative effect of consistently not getting enough sleep. Although both sleep apnea and insomnia can be consequences of or contributors to sleep debt, sleep debt is most likely to contribute to insomnia. Insomnia involves persistent difficulty in falling or staying asleep and can be exacerbated by an accumulation of sleep debt. While sleep apnea is a respiratory disorder where breathing stops intermittently during sleep and can certainly lead to disrupted sleep patterns, it is not typically caused by sleep debt. Instead, sleep apnea could be a pre-existing condition that, if left untreated, contributes to the accumulation of sleep debt due to poor quality of sleep.
Therefore, chronic sleep debt is most likely to contribute to insomnia. Individuals experiencing insomnia as a result of sleep debt may find that they have long delays before falling asleep, or they might wake up frequently during the night with trouble returning to sleep. This is because a person with sleep debt has impaired sleep regulation, which in turn affects their ability to maintain consistent and restorative sleep.