How to Get Better Sleep When You’re Living with Obstructive Sleep Apnea

Living with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) can be challenging, but there are practical steps that may improve your nightly sleep. This page explains why sleep apnea disrupts sleep and shares evidence-based tips that may reduce symptoms and help you rest better.

How does sleep apnea affect your sleep?

When the airway partly or fully collapses during sleep, airflow drops or stops and blood oxygen can fall. These events typically last 10 seconds or longer and end with a brief arousal – a momentary shift toward wakefulness that usually goes unnoticed but fragments your sleep.[1]

Importantly, most of these arousals don’t fully wake you; this hidden sleep fragmentation is the main reason sleep apnea often causes daytime sleepiness.[1] In more severe cases, though, people do wake up gasping or feeling like they’re choking.[2]

Treating sleep apnea (for example, with CPAP) often improves daytime sleepiness, sleep-related quality of life, and blood pressure. [3][4]

The science of why sleep apnea disrupts sleep

When most people think of sleep apnea, they’re thinking of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), which involves repeated airway collapse during sleep. It tends to unfold in a repeating cycle:

1. As you fall asleep, the muscles that keep the airway open relax.[5]
2. In a narrow or crowded airway – more in people with excess weight, a larger neck or tongue, or a smaller/receding jaw – the soft tissues collapse inward and airflow drops or stops.[1][2]
3. Oxygen falls (and carbon dioxide rises), which the body detects.[1]
4. The brain triggers a brief arousal, increasing airway-muscle tone to reopen the airway.[5]
5. Airflow resumes, often with a gasp. This can repeat many times per hour in severe cases.[1]

Rather than a fixed “large neck” cause, researchers now understand OSA as a mix of traits that vary between people; airway anatomy, how easily you arouse from sleep, airway-muscle responsiveness, and the stability of your breathing control.

This is part of why the same treatment doesn’t work equally well for everyone.[6] Over the long term, untreated OSA is associated with higher risks of many health conditions such as high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke.[1]

5 lifestyle tips that may help you sleep better:

These steps may help manage symptoms and are good general sleep habits. They are most useful as complements to – not replacements for – diagnosis and treatment, and they’re especially relevant for mild or positional sleep apnea.[1]

1.) Avoid large meals within 2–3 hours of bedtime

Sleep apnea and acid reflux frequently occur together and can aggravate each other. Eating close to bedtime and then lying down makes reflux more likely, and nighttime reflux can irritate the airway and disrupt sleep. Multiple guidelines recommend avoiding food for at least 2–3 hours before lying down to reduce nighttime reflux.[7][8]

2.) Avoid alcohol and sedatives before bed

Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles and worsens breathing during sleep. Apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) is used to measure how severe a person’s sleep apnea is. Studies show alcohol raises the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) and lowers overnight oxygen levels, with a larger effect in people who already have OSA. It also blunts the arousals that reopen the airway. Sedatives can have similar effects, so both are best avoided in the hours before sleep.[9][10]

3.) Avoid sleeping on your back

Many people have position-dependent sleep apnea, where breathing pauses are far more frequent lying on the back. Sleeping on your side can meaningfully reduce AHI in these individuals, though it is generally less effective than CPAP treatments.

Side-sleeping (specifcally sleeping on your left side, so that the opening of your stomach is positioned at the top) may also reduce nighttime reflux.[11][1]

4.) Elevate the head of the bed

Raising the head of the bed may help both reflux and, in some people, sleep apnea. Because pillows alone tend to shift during the night, it’s better to elevate the head of the bed frame itself (an adjustable bed, or sturdy risers/a bed wedge).

Guidelines commonly suggest raising the head of the bed by about 15–20 cm (6–8 inches) for potential reflux-related relief.[12][7]

5.) Consider CPAP for moderate-to-severe sleep apnea

For moderate-to-severe OSA, CPAP is the most effective treatment. It gently delivers pressurized air that keeps the airway open (“stents” it) throughout the night, preventing the collapse that causes apnea episodes and maintaining healthy oxygen levels. Many machines also track usage and results to share with your care team.[2]

Getting CPAP requires a sleep study for diagnosis first; from there, a provider and CPAP supplier can help you find the right machine and a well-fitting mask. Benefits depend heavily on consistent nightly use, so mask comfort and follow-up support matter a great deal.[4]

When should I talk to my healthcare practitioner?

If you think you may have sleep apnea, talk to your healthcare practitioner. A definitive diagnosis requires a sleep study, and your care team can start that process. 

With Felix in your corner, you can find practical, evidence-based ways to improve your sleep, so you can start getting back to living on your terms – the way it should be.

---

REFERENCES

1. Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Gottlieb DJ, Punjabi NM. JAMA. 2020;323(14):1389-1400. doi:10.1001/jama.2020.3514.
2. Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults. Veasey SC, Rosen IM. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2019;380(15):1442-1449. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp1816152.
3. Obstructive Sleep Apnea in Adults: Common Questions and Answers. Gawrys B, Silva TW, Herness J. American Family Physician. 2024;110(1):27-36.
4. Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea. Lastra AC, Neborak JM, Mokhlesi B. JAMA Internal Medicine. 2025;:2837455. doi:10.1001/jamainternmed.2025.2318.
5. Sleep Apnea and Cardiovascular Disease: An American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology Foundation Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association Council for High Blood Pressure Research Professional Education Committee, Council on Clinical Cardiology, Stroke Council, and Council on Cardiovascular Nursing. Somers VK, White DP, Amin R, et al. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2008;52(8):686-717. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2008.05.002.
6. Sleep Disordered Breathing and Cardiovascular Disease: JACC State-of-the-Art Review. Cowie MR, Linz D, Redline S, Somers VK, Simonds AK. Journal of the American College of Cardiology. 2021;78(6):608-624. doi:10.1016/j.jacc.2021.05.048.
7. Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease. Fass R. The New England Journal of Medicine. 2022;387(13):1207-1216. doi:10.1056/NEJMcp2114026.
8. AGA Clinical Practice Update on the Diagnosis and Management of Extraesophageal Gastroesophageal Reflux Disease: Expert Review. Chen JW, Vela MF, Peterson KA, Carlson DA. Clinical Gastroenterology and Hepatology : The Official Clinical Practice Journal of the American Gastroenterological Association. 2023;21(6):1414-1421.e3. doi:10.1016/j.cgh.2023.01.040.
9. The Impact of Alcohol on Breathing Parameters During Sleep: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Kolla BP, Foroughi M, Saeidifard F, et al. Sleep Medicine Reviews. 2018;42:59-67. doi:10.1016/j.smrv.2018.05.007.
10. Impact of Alcohol Consumption on Snoring and Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Burgos-Sanchez C, Jones NN, Avillion M, et al. Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery : Official Journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery. 2020;163(6):1078-1086. doi:10.1177/0194599820931087.
11. Positional Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnoea. Srijithesh PR, Aghoram R, Goel A, Dhanya J. The Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019;5:CD010990. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010990.pub2.
12. Head-of-Bed Elevation Outcomes on Apnea Severity Nasal Resistance in Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Multicenter Observational Study. Maniaci A, Lentini M, Lechien JR, et al. Sleep & Breathing = Schlaf & Atmung. 2025;29(6):359. doi:10.1007/s11325-025-03534-6.