Insomnia without waking up?

Hey guys, let me start off this post by saying that I am not 100% sure if my problems are related to insomnia, but it is certainly a possibility. My problems started about 3 years ago where I used to wake up 10-15 times per night, and then proceed to wake up feeling like a zombie. Back then I had a clear grasp of what the problem was, it was me waking up at night.

I no longer wake up during the night now (or not as much), but my problems have gotten even worst. I wake up feeling like I didn't sleep at all, am tired all day long, have a foggy head and cannot concentrate on anything. It is hard to explain but I don't wake up like I used to before getting these problems, it is more like I fade out of sleep instead of waking up. I spend a good 10 minutes aware of my surroundings, but with my eyes still closed, before actually deciding to wake up.

My question is, is it possible to have bad sleep but not wake up? I know that sleep is broken up into cycles so I am wondering if it is possible for your body to miss a certain cycle each night. I have went to a sleep specialist and told him about my problems. He said that sleep apnea was unlikely but will still have me do a sleep study due to the fact that my tongue is really big and he said could be blocking my airway during the night. He said that it was more likely that I had "poor sleep quality", but we can do things to improve it. I assume that these "things" are sleeping pills. I am not a big believer in pills but I do think they work if used in the short term. He also mentioned that the sleep study will not tell me if I have poor sleep quality.

Hoping to hear of some similar cases on here. Thanks for reading!