How Weight Affects Sleep Apnea

Why Excess Weight Causes Sleep Apnea

Several health conditions increase the likelihood of developing sleep apnea, but OSA is most common in people who are overweight or obese. Excess weight creates fat deposits in a person’s neck called pharyngeal fat. Pharyngeal fat can block a person’s upper airway during sleep when the airway is already relaxed. This is why snoring is one of the most common sleep apnea symptoms — air is literally being squeezed through a restricted airway, causing a loud noise.

Additionally, increased abdominal girth from excess fat can compress a person’s chest wall, decreasing lung volume. This reduced lung capacity diminishes airflow Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source , making the upper airway more likely to collapse during sleep. OSA risk continues to increase with a rising body mass index Trusted Source JAMA Network JAMA and the Specialty Journals help readers stay up to date with the latest research, author interviews, apps, and learning courses. View Source (BMI), which measures one’s body fat based on height and weight. Even a 10% weight gain is associated with a six-fold increase Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source in OSA risk.

Less common causes of sleep apnea include enlarged tonsils that block the airway, anatomical features such as a large neck or narrow throat, endocrine disorders (including diabetes and thyroid disease), acid reflux, lung diseases, and heart problems. However, roughly 60–90% of adults Trusted Source American Diabetes Association Journals The American Diabetes Association is a non-profit that seeks to educate the public about diabetes and to help those affected by it through funding research to manage, cure and prevent diabetes. View Source with OSA are overweight.

Can Sleep Apnea Cause Weight Gain?

While excess weight has long been known to be a risk factor for OSA, an increasing amount of evidence suggests the relationship is reciprocal. This is because sleep deprivation is associated with decreased leptin (an appetite-suppressing hormone) and increased ghrelin (an appetite-stimulating hormone), which may increase cravings for calorie-dense foods. Additional data indicates that insufficient sleep leads to overeating, obesity, and a decrease in fat-loss during calorie restriction.

It also appears that OSA patients, in particular, may be more susceptible to weight gain than people who have the same BMI and health status but do not suffer from sleep apnea. This is illustrated in one study that showed people with OSA gained significantly more weight (around 16 pounds Trusted Source Annals of Internal Medicine Annals of Internal Medicine’s mission is to promote excellence in medicine, enable physicians and other health care professionals to be well informed members of the medical community and society, advance standards in the conduct and reporting of medical research, and contribute to improving the health of people worldwide. View Source ) in the year leading up to their OSA diagnosis compared with BMI-matched people without OSA.

Sleep apnea can also deplete people of the energy they need to maintain a healthy body weight. Daytime sleepiness is a common sleep apnea symptom, resulting from fragmented, unrefreshing sleep. Excessive sleepiness may lead sleep apnea sufferers to exert less physical activity during waking hours. This may be particularly problematic for obese people, who frequently experience more shortness of breath and chest discomfort with physical effort, resulting in limited exercise. Without dietary changes, decreased activity levels can lead to additional weight gain.

Health Risks of Sleep Apnea and Excess Weight

Deprived of sufficient, quality rest, sleep apnea sufferers experience significant stress on their cardiovascular, metabolic, and pulmonary systems. This may be particularly worrisome for obese people, because obesity can also elevate the risk of heart, lung, and metabolic problems Trusted Source National Center for Biotechnology Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source , potentially compounding their health concerns.

Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Health

Sleep apnea affects a person’s entire cardiovascular system in several ways. Each time a breathing lapse occurs, the body’s oxygen supply drops, triggering a “fight or flight” response. When this response occurs, blood pressure surges and heart rate increases, causing the sleeper to awaken and reopen their airway. This cycle repeats throughout the night. The cyclic rising and falling blood oxygen levels can cause inflammation, which in turn may lead to atherosclerosis (a build-up of plaque in the blood vessels) which is associated with heart attacks, stroke, and high blood pressure.

Sleep apnea also elevates carbon dioxide and glucose levels in the blood, disrupts the part of the nervous system that controls heartbeat and blood flow, increases insulin resistance, and alters the flow of oxygen and carbon dioxide. As a result, sleep apnea is associated with the following heart, lung, and metabolic problems, among others:

• Hypertension (high blood pressure)
• Atrial fibrillation and other arrhythmias
• Heart failure
• Stroke and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs, also known as “mini-strokes”)
• Coronary heart disease
• Type 2 diabetes
• Metabolic syndrome (obesity, hypertension, diabetes, and dyslipidemia)

Obesity Hypoventilation Syndrome and Sleep Apnea

OSA frequently coexists in people with obesity hypoventilation syndrome Trusted Source National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) The NHLBI is the nation's leader in the prevention and treatment of heart, lung, blood and sleep disorders. View Source (OHS). In OHS, excess weight puts pressure against a person’s chest wall, compressing their lungs, and therefore interfering with their ability to take deep, well-paced breaths. Up to 90% of people with OHS Trusted Source ATS Journals The ATS journals publish the latest advances in basic science, translational and clinical research, clinical trials, state-of-the-art reviews, perspectives, clinical guidelines, and report on the education and development of adult and pediatric respiratory health professionals. View Source also have sleep apnea, but not everyone with OSA has OHS. The risk of OHS is correlated to BMI, with prevalence rising to almost 50% in those whose BMI is greater than 50 Trusted Source Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine (JCSM) JCSM is the official, peer-reviewed journal of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. View Source .

Like sleep apnea, OHS can cause high blood pressure and heart failure, and it can decrease oxygen while elevating carbon dioxide levels in the blood. Patients afflicted with both of these conditions have a significant risk of cardiovascular disease. Unfortunately, OSA patients with severe OHS have an increased risk Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source of death.

Can Losing Weight Cure Sleep Apnea?

Treating sleep apnea, like treating many diseases, starts with lifestyle and behavioral modifications. For most OSA sufferers, this includes working toward a healthy body weight. Weight loss reduces fatty deposits in the neck and tongue Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source which can contribute to restricted airflow. This also reduces abdominal fat, which in turn increases lung volume and improves airway traction, making the airway less likely to collapse during sleep.

Losing weight can also significantly reduce many OSA related symptoms, such as daytime sleepiness. Irritability and other neuropsychiatric dysfunctions markedly improve as well. There is an overall improvement in cardiovascular health, high blood pressure, insulin resistance, type 2 diabetes Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source , and in particular quality of life. Weight loss of just 10-15% can reduce the severity of OSA by 50% in moderately obese patients. Unfortunately, while weight loss can provide meaningful improvements in OSA, it usually does not lead to a complete cure, and many sleep apnea patients need additional therapies.

Does the Weight Loss Method Matter?

With several options for losing weight, many OSA patients want to know which one is best for sleep apnea. Some of the best weight loss methods include:

• Dietary changes
• Increased physical activity
• Medications
• Surgery

There is evidence that behavioral modification is just as effective as certain weight-loss surgeries Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source in improving OSA. Encouragingly, exercise alone can modestly improve the severity Trusted Source SpringerLink SpringerLink provides researchers with access to millions of scientific documents from journals, books, series, protocols, reference works, and proceedings. View Source of OSA, even without significant weight loss.

Regardless of technique, OSA improvement is proportional to the amount of weight lost. Therefore, patients should discuss with their doctor which weight loss strategy is best-suited to their personal circumstances, overall health, and their OSA severity.

Will Treating Sleep Apnea Help You Lose Weight?

Evidence suggests that OSA patients who effectively manage their sleep apnea may find it easier to lose weight. In one study, ghrelin Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source (a hormone that stimulates appetite) levels were higher in OSA patients than in people without OSA of the same body mass but fell to comparable levels after two days of using CPAP treatment.

Conflictingly, long-term use of CPAP, the most effective sleep apnea treatment, has been associated with weight gain in some studies Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source . However, the reasons for this association are unclear, and more research is needed. Given the complexity of weight and sleep apnea treatment, overweight patients should not solely rely on CPAP therapy or apnea treatments as their sole means of weight control.

Don’t Wait To Seek Care

When it comes to sleep and weight, early intervention is key for preventing harm and reclaiming quality of life. With adequate treatment, sleep apnea carries an excellent prognosis. And it’s never too late, or too early, to take an active approach to weight control. If you think you may have sleep apnea, it’s important to see a doctor for an accurate diagnosis and tailored treatment options.

Still have questions? Ask our community!

Join our Sleep Care Community — a trusted hub of sleep health professionals, product specialists, and people just like you. Whether you need expert sleep advice for your insomnia or you’re searching for the perfect mattress, we’ve got you covered. Get personalized guidance from the experts who know sleep best.