Is there a cure for sleep apnea?

Is there a cure for sleep apnea? The answer depends on how you define “cure.” Simply put, there is, unfortunately, no magical, one-off sleep apnea cure that will instantly get rid of the condition. There are, however, a number of sleep apnea treatment options that can alleviate the symptoms and help people get the healthy sleep that this condition so often denies them.

Unfortunately, we can’t really call sleep apnea treatments like positive airway pressure (PAP) or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) sleep apnea cures. They usually work very well in eliminating sleep apnea symptoms, but they’re a means of treating and living with the condition, not of getting rid of it.

And if you have severe sleep apnea, your best bet is getting on CPAP therapy as quickly as possible. It’s not a cure for sleep apnea, but it’s the most clinically supported method of treatment, providing the best opportunity to live a healthy life. Other solutions include dental appliances for mild sleep apnea and surgery – although the latter is usually recommended only in the most extreme cases.

However, if your sleep apnea is mild – or if you haven’t yet been diagnosed, and your sleep apnea symptoms aren’t yet causing you too much trouble – you may prefer to try less clinical options. To this end, the next best thing to a sleep apnea cure is also the first treatment option recommended by most experts.

Is there a cure for sleep apnea? And could it be so simple?

It’s not officially a cure for sleep apnea – in fact, nothing is – but losing weight is almost always the first piece of advice given to those with signs of sleep apnea such as drowsiness, fatigue, snoring, and so on.

Dr. Molly Cooke, president of the American College of Physicians, explained to NPR that losing weight can remove the fat that blocks the breathing airways, which causes obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). She even stated that losing weight would “not only fix your sleep trouble, it would help your cholesterol, it would help your knees, your clothes would fit better and you would be a happier person,” she adds.

Dr. Lawrence Epstein of Brigham and Women’s Hospital goes even further, telling Harvard Women’s Health Watch: “If we can get people to lose weight, it would make both sleep apnea and other health problems [such as heart disease] go away,”

“Losing just 10% of body weight can have a big effect on sleep apnea symptoms,” agrees Stephanie Watson, author of the Harvard article. “In some cases, losing a significant amount of weight can even cure the condition.”

It should be noted that weight loss would only work as a potential sleep apnea cure with OSA, in which the airway is blocked, as opposed to central sleep apnea (CSA), where breathing problems are a result of failed signals between the brain and the respiratory center. But most sleep apnea diagnoses are OSA, not CSA; the American Sleep Apnea Association estimates that just one in five sleep apnea patients has CSA.

So, is weight loss a cure for sleep apnea? Not exactly – but for those who are undiagnosed, or diagnosed with a mild form of sleep apnea, it’s as close as we’re likely to get.

Are there any real sleep apnea cures out there?

Is there a cure for sleep apnea? The answer remains the same – no “formal” sleep apnea cures exist. (If someone tells you they have a sleep apnea cure, proceed with caution. And suspicion.)

And we’re not suggesting that weight loss is a true cure for sleep apnea. But for people with OSA, losing weight could be the next best thing, preventing some mild sleep apnea symptoms from becoming severe or life threatening.

The best answer to the question of whether sleep apnea cures exist, however, is to think not in terms of a cure for sleep apnea, but in terms of living a healthier life. Following the standard recommendations for healthy sleep  – in addition to clinical treatments like CPAP or dental appliances, if necessary – may not offer a cure for sleep apnea, but it will likely help you get you the healthy sleep you’re missing.