Treating Sleep Apnea

When your doctor diagnoses you with sleep apnea, you find out the severity of your problem. There are different levels of sleep apnea determined by your AHI (apnea/hypopnea index):

• Mild Sleep Apnea: AHI is more than 5 apnea events per hour but less than 15
• Moderate Sleep Apnea: AHI is more than 15 apnea events per hour but less than 30
• Severe Sleep Apnea: AHI is more than 30 apnea events per hour

Our current US population is 326 million people:

• 10% have mild obstructive sleep apnea (AHI>5)
• 3.5% have moderate obstructive sleep apnea (AHI>15)” (1)

There may be ways to improve your sleep without medical treatment with mild to moderate sleep apnea disorder. Of course, always work with your ENT doctor to determine the best treatments in your particular case. Without treatment, sleep apnea can increase your risk of debilitating health events.

Positional Treatments for Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Everyone has their favorite sleep position– on tummy with feet hanging off the bed, fetal position curled into a cozy ball, on the back with fingers lightly interlaced. However, the way you sleep may impact the way you breathe. Positional treatments for snoring involve changing sleeping positions. This change in position may facilitate opening the throat and help you breathe better. Selecting the right pillow for sleep apnea is crucial, as features like contoured, wedge, and adjustable options can improve comfort and enhance CPAP therapy effectiveness. Stomach sleepers, for instance, generally benefit from thinner pillows to minimize neck and back pain and improve airway alignment. Let’s look at some studies involving positional therapy.

SONA Pillow

According to a study in Sleep and Breathing, a uniquely designed pillow (SONA Pillow) reduces the number of apnea events in patients with mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea. The SONA Pillow is a triangular cpap pillow with space to place your arm under the head while sleeping on the side. A memory foam pillow provides ergonomic support and contours to the user’s shape, enhancing comfort and sleep quality for various sleeping positions, including side and back sleepers.

Researchers studied 22 patients with obstructive sleep apnea syndrome, including 11 mild, 8 moderate, and 3 severe sleep apnea patients. The pillow was an effective and easily used treatment for mild and moderate obstructive sleep apnea and snoring. Apnea events decreased on average from 17 events per hour to fewer than 5 events per hour while utilizing the pillow. Also, snoring was decreased or eliminated. (2)

Positional Therapy and Snoring

While obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) events may vary depending on your sleep position, your position’s effect on snoring depends on the severity of your sleep apnea.

A study in Sleep looked at 72 patients who complained of chronic snoring. The patients without sleep apnea decreased their snoring by sleeping on their side. However, the patients with sleep apnea had variable outcomes. The OSA patients who had higher levels of sleep apnea still snored when sleeping on their side, even when using CPAP therapy. A wedge pillow can be beneficial for sleep apnea patients by elevating the head and neck to improve breathing and reduce apnea events.

This study showed that snorers with proven severe sleep apnea might not benefit from positional treatment. OSA patients often fail to decrease snoring even in the side sleep position. (3)

But is it possible that side sleeping may still benefit those with severe sleep apnea?

Sleeping Position Matters

Another study involved severe sleep apnea patients who suffered an average of 70.1 apnea events per hour. These patients had already demonstrated that positional therapy did not reduce sleep apnea events in a separate study. However, this study showed that apneic events happening while sleeping on their back were “significantly more severe” than the events while sleeping on their side. Memory foam pillows can provide medium to firm support that elevates the head and maintains proper airway positioning, which is beneficial for side sleepers. Proper pillow support can also alleviate neck pain, improving overall sleep quality.

A high-loft pillow can contribute to neck and shoulder pain, particularly for stomach sleepers. Customizable features in pillows are important to reduce pressure on the neck and maintain comfort, ultimately aiding in the prevention of neck and shoulder pain.

So, even though severe sleep apnea sufferers were still snoring while sleeping on their side, their apnea episodes were less severe. When sleeping on their back, apnea events more often woke them up. While sleeping on their side, they woke up less often. Only 4 of 900 apneic events woke them while sleeping on their sides. However, while sleeping on their back, 37 apneic events out of 900 ended in awakening.

So, even in patients with severe OSA who have the same number of apneic events sleeping on their side and back, sleep apnea episodes are more severe when sleeping on their back. Even though severe sleep apnea patients have the same number of events sleeping on their side and back, the nature of those apnea events is less severe sleeping on their side. (4)

Can a Wedge Pillow Help Me Breathe Better?

The bottom line is that many people with sleep apnea and snoring benefit from side-sleeping with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy. Selecting pillows that are compatible with CPAP machines can help prevent mask leaks, air pressure issues, and discomfort.

Choosing pillows that accommodate CPAP machines is important to prevent mask leaks and enhance the comfort and effectiveness of CPAP therapy.

However, it is crucial to stay in touch with your ENT doctor to ensure that your choice of treatment works for you. Sleep studies can help doctors see whether sleeping on your side with a particular choice of pillow may benefit your sleep apnea enough to keep you healthy and enjoying restful sleep.

We Can Help

At Enticare, whether you suffer from mild, moderate, or severe sleep apnea, our ENT specialists help you find solutions to sleep better. From a sleep apnea pillow to cpap pillows designed to alleviate mask pressure and neck pain, to medical devices such as CPAP or Inspire, to positional therapies and medication, we are here to help. Sleep apnea pillows, including CPAP, wedge, and cervical pillows, are important supportive tools that can aid in improving sleep quality by addressing specific needs and preferences. Ensuring proper pillow selection is crucial for maintaining good sleep health, as it helps in proper alignment and comfort, minimizing disruptions during sleep. Schedule a diagnostic sleep study to find out more about your sleep apnea or whether you may suffer from other sleep disorders. Find a way to wake up feeling refreshed and ready to take on your day again. Contact us today to find out how we can help.

Footnotes:

1. Sleep Apnea Statistics
2. Sleep apnea avoidance pillow effects on obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and snoring
3. Effects of body position on snoring in apneic and nonapneic snorers
4. Association of body position with severity of apneic events in patients with severe nonpositional obstructive sleep apnea