Check with your doctor to see if weight loss is a viable treatment plan. However, you will still need to use your CPAP until you lose weight. If your sleep apnea is caused by another factor such as having a narrow jaw or deviated septum, losing weight may not get rid of the need for your CPAP.
Q: If I think my sleep apnea symptoms have been reduced by weight loss, can I skip CPAP? A: Maintaining a healthy weight can reduce your risk of developing many health conditions, 4 but it hasn't been proven to cure sleep apnea. You should not stop your CPAP therapy without first talking to your doctor.
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.
As long as you have sleep apnea, you will continue to need to use CPAP therapy. That being said, you can discontinue the use of your CPAP machine if your sleep apnea becomes cured or enters remission.
In easier to understand terms, you have a full 90 day (or 3-month period) to wear your CPAP for a minimum of 4 hours each night for 70% of the time.
Withdrawing CPAP results in increased daytime sleepiness and reduced driving performance (7,33,34). Therefore, one might raise a safety issue from withdrawing CPAP for 2 weeks.
It appears that CPAP treatment for OSA most frequently causes an increase in body weight, and the study by Quan et al provides the best evidence we have.
Obstructive sleep apnea can also contribute to weight gain and obesity. Research has shown that approximately 40 percent of the people living with obesity also have obstructive sleep apnea, and 70 percent of people with obstructive sleep apnea are obese.
While there is no cure for sleep apnea, studies show that certain lifestyle factors can reverse or make your sleep apnea less intense. Other treatment or surgical options can also reverse the condition. Sleep apnea happens when your upper airway muscles relax while you sleep. This causes you to not get enough air.
In the 2020 Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine's research titled “Up, down, or no change: weight gain as an unwanted side effect of CPAP for obstructive sleep apnea,” they conclude “it appears that CPAP treatment of OSA most frequently causes an increase in body weight.”
You might have heard reports that sleep apnea makes it more difficult to lose weight. This is due to the fact that it slows down your metabolism and in some cases, may mean that you won't be able to lose weight at all. Research does suggest that this is the case.
Three months of CPAP therapy reduced the basal metabolic rate in the absence of changes in physical activity, thus favoring a positive energy balance in terms of energy expenditure.
The dangers of weight gain with sleep apnea
While having sleep apnea can lead to weight gain, weight gain can also make sleep apnea symptoms worse. When most people gain weight, they gain it everywhere – including their neck. Excess weight in this area can narrow your airway when you lie down.
Try to focus on eating more calories and food earlier on and throughout the day, rather than in the evening. For the new Sleep Apnea Weight Loss Plan you want to consume 3 small meals and two or three snacks per day, rather than eating 2 large meals.
If you are no longer in need of your CPAP equipment, you can donate your machine to be safely recycled for reuse. We work with qualified medical equipment companies that will refurbish your equipment for safe use by another patient in need.
However, it's now accepted that CPAP in and of itself doesn't cause weight loss and it may even lead to weight gain. One study found sleep apnea patients using CPAP gained weight and those who were most compliant with CPAP gained the greatest amount.
Aerophagia—or air swallowing—results in burping, abdominal distention, and discomfort, and oh my—flatulence! Aerophagia can develop during continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) use. But most CPAP patients do not openly complain of aerophagia symptoms, and clinicians may not specifically ask about it.
Results show the subjects who used a CPAP machine no longer suffered from clinically significant levels of fatigue after treatment. Self-reported energy levels also increased for CPAP users, and daytime sleepiness dropped.
Does CPAP Cure Sleep Apnea? Sleep apnea is improved by CPAP as the device creates a constant airflow that keeps the airway from collapsing during sleep. While it's used, sleep apnea can fully resolve.
Sleep Apnea FAQs
The life expectancy of a patient with sleep apnea who is under 50 years old is between 8 and 18 years. If patients receive the treatment they are likely to live longer, with fewer excess health complications than those who do not receive treatment.
Across 789,260 patients initiated on CPAP (mean age, 55 ± 14 years; 58.2% male), overall adherence by US Centers of Medicare & Medicaid Services criteria was 72.6%, but it varied dramatically by age and sex, ranging from 51.3% in 18- to 30-year-old women to 80.6% in 71- to 80-year-old men.
Regular use of the CPAP keeps your airways open and reduces swelling, so if you skip using the machine while you sleep, you miss out on this benefit. Swelling can return, causing you discomfort throughout the day.