Stomach sleeping versus back sleeping

[tooly125]

Just curious

I was talking with a friend tonight and we were wondering if sleeping on your back is the worst position for somebody with OSA.

Would sleeping on your stomach be the best?
If sombody had mild OSA would sleeping on their stomach stop it?

Like I said just curious I have no plans of rolling over and unmasking.

[Snoredog]

yes sleeping in the supine position results in worsening OSA.

very simple to understand, your tongue can more easily fall into the back of your throat in the supine position. when you sleep on your side or stomach it is much harder for that to happen.

you read alot about "airway" collapse yet that is NOT what happens at all for most people.

[Julie]

Hi, As a stomach Apap-er, I should caution you about a couple of things. When you sleep on your stomach wearing a mask (with your head sideways, likely on your hands), you need a place for the mask to go, and the vented air. I did something radical, but it works for me. I should tell you that you can buy a special 'Cpap' pillow with cut-outs on the sides to accommodate a mask, but then it means your head and neck are raised, which I find uncomfortable to do when on my stomach. What I did is get a 4" deep slab of hi-density foam rubber (make sure it's been aired for a couple of wks to get rid of any chem. fumes) which is on top of my reg. bed. At the top end, I cut out a 4" wide x 3" deep channel going towards the bottom of the bed x 10" long. My head, on it's right side, is mostly on my left hand, but my nasal mask rests in the channel. It works for me because I use an Ultramirage II and a Comfort Select, which vent not right out from the elbow angle like most do (and would be blocked by the mattress), but from a place on the plastic that's not blocked in the same way. It's not a perfect set-up, but it works for me, and without that channel, I can't get comfortable at all in the masks and they don't seal properly.

[DreamStalker]

In addition to Snoredog's comments I think that the lower jaw tends to drop more in supine than while on side or stomach.

Hi, As a stomach Apap-er, I should caution you about a couple of things. When you sleep on your stomach wearing a mask (with your head sideways, likely on your hands), you need a place for the mask to go, and the vented air. I did something radical, but it works for me. I should tell you that you can buy a special 'Cpap' pillow with cut-outs on the sides to accommodate a mask, but then it means your head and neck are raised, which I find uncomfortable to do when on my stomach. What I did is get a 4" deep slab of hi-density foam rubber (make sure it's been aired for a couple of wks to get rid of any chem. fumes) which is on top of my reg. bed. At the top end, I cut out a 4" wide x 3" deep channel going towards the bottom of the bed x 10" long. My head, on it's right side, is mostly on my left hand, but my nasal mask rests in the channel. It works for me because I use an Ultramirage II and a Comfort Select, which vent not right out from the elbow angle like most do (and would be blocked by the mattress), but from a place on the plastic that's not blocked in the same way. It's not a perfect set-up, but it works for me, and without that channel, I can't get comfortable at all in the masks and they don't seal properly.

I have a custom designed mattress … layer of high-tech resilient foam, 2 layers of natural latex, and a memory foam top. The foams are available over the internet in various thicknesses, densities, and levels of firmness -- optimized for side sleepers or stomach sleepers. In general, stomach sleepers need a firmer mattress where as side sleepers need softer mattresses. The price generally runs about the same as an upper end standard mattress, but sleep is important right?

Anyway, your post got me to thinking that one could design a mattress for exclusive stomach OSA sleepers after the design of one of those massage tables … with the right foam selection, one could cut out a channel for face, mask, and hose straight out of the mattress (resolve painful neck issues). In addition, the mattresses can be custom designed to accommodate your sleeping partner … like those sleep number beds except that there is no changing of the numbers after the bed is designed.

Just a thought for the OSA stomach sleepers …


- roberto

[Vader]

Just curious

I was talking with a friend tonight and we were wondering if sleeping on your back is the worst position for somebody with OSA..

Without question, sleeping on your back is the worst position for OSA.
OTOH, sleeping on your stomach is the worst for your spine, this is why I prefer side sleeping.

[kteague]

Tooly, the part of your question I haven't seen an answer to yet was about if the "flip side" of the back sleeping means that on one's stomach they should have the lowest incidence of apneas? On one's stomach, what happens to the tongue and soft tissues? Has anyone had numbers that told them if their AHI goes up or down in comparison to their AHI for side and back sleeping?

Roberto - Mattress toppers designed to accomodate the masks of stomach sleeping cpapers... hmmmmm. You may be onto something. But those tempur-pedic toppers are awfully expensive to experiment with at home. Let us know when your invention hits the market.

Kathy

[Justin_Case]

If you sleep on your stomach, wouldn't there be a greater chance of suffocation because you're blocking the airway? Just wondering.

[CollegeGirl]

No, Justin, because the majority of stomach sleepers keep their heads turned to the side, not buried into the pillow.

tooly, there's lots of research documenting the fact that OSA is worse when you're sleeping on your back. That's why they make you sleep that way in your sleep study - because that's where you'll get the worst results.

People with undiagnosed apnea often begin sleeping on their stomachs or in recliners as a way to lessen their apnea, without even knowing what they are doing.

I'm an example - at the ripe old age of 6, I started adding pillows to keep my neck extended more. At 8 I'd reached three pillows and was having neck pain. At 9, i started stomach sleeping, and I haven't stopped since.

Being a child, I had no idea what I was doing, I just knew I felt like i was suffocating when I laid on my back.

[Justin_Case]

I am a side sleeper and I have had back, neck, and shoulder spasms for years. Today, for the first time since my apnea has been diagnosed, I am going to see a registered massage therapist because it has gotten so bad...maybe that's contributing to my recent increase OSA events?

[NyNurse33]

Wow college girl, I did not know that. I have been a stomach sleeper for like ever!! 3 yrs ago, I started noticing that if I was watching tv while in bed and I fell asleep, I would wake myself up, either by having a coughing fit or by making these really weird snorting sounds. I later learned, I had stopped breathing during those times. I was first diagnosed in Nov '05 with OSA, but went into denial and thought, well I'll just continue to sleep on my stomach, b/c I only slept on my back in the lab, b/c I was hooked up to all those wires. Well, guess what, I never got better by "my method" and here I am.

[btturner]

My sleep study talks about sleeping my back as THE position to avoid.

[dllfo]

Odd how our childhood comes back...after I was born, my mom said she slept with me on her stomach for over a year because I would quit breathing. She did not know why. Also, I would ....have something like a mucus discharge that would gag me. When I got too big to sleep "on her", she told me she put pillows around me so I would sleep on my stomach, with my head to the side to prevent the gagging.