Ozempic has taken the world by storm. What started as a diabetes medication is now a popular weight loss drug.
It may also help sleep apnea, a condition linked with being overweight. CPAP therapy is usually the first-line treatment for sleep apnea, but Ozempic — and other weight loss drugs — may have a place as part of a mixed treatment plan. More research is needed.
Below, we’ll dive into whether Ozempic can really help with sleep apnea, the other treatments that have more evidence behind them, and how the RISE app can help you improve your sleep and energy levels while you’re getting treatment for sleep apnea — whether that’s Ozempic or not.
Heads-up: Ozempic is still a relatively new drug. More research is needed on how it could help those with sleep apnea, and more studies are currently underway. We’ve rounded up what we know so far, and we’ll keep this post updated as more research comes out.
A quick explainer: Ozempic is one brand name for the drug semaglutide. Other versions of the medication include Wegovy, a higher dose, and Rybelsus, a tablet formulation.
Semaglutide belongs to a class of medications called glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1RAs). Other GLP-1RAs, like liraglutide, have been studied as sleep apnea treatments.
There’s also tirzepetide — the active ingredient in Mounjaro and Zepbound. Tirzepetide is a dual-acting GLP-1RA and glucose-dependent insulinotropic polypeptide (GIP) receptor agonist, or GLP-1/GIP receptor agonist. This, too, may help sleep apnea via weight loss, but more research is needed.
“There’s some promising research on Ozempic as a treatment for sleep apnea, but this research is still very new,” says Dr. Chester Wu. “While I’ve not prescribed Ozempic yet, I have recommended people consult with their PCP or endocrinologist to find out if Ozempic could be right for them. In the future I may prescribe it for my own patients. Speak with your doctor to find out if it’s right for you.”
Dr. Chester Wu is double board certified in Psychiatry and Sleep Medicine, and provides sleep medicine services, medication management, and psychotherapy to adults at his private sleep medicine and psychiatry practice.
Ozempic may help reduce sleep apnea symptoms primarily through weight loss, with emerging evidence suggesting additional improvements in sleep independent of losing weight. However, the current quality of evidence is low, and long-term use might be necessary to maintain benefits, as weight regain is possible after discontinuing the drug.
Here are those key points we’ll go through below:
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Obesity is a risk factor for sleep apnea: the more overweight you are, the more likely you are to develop sleep apnea and the worse the condition can be.
Fat can build up in the airways, making them more prone to collapsing during the night and cutting off your breathing. Fat can also and make it more likely to fall and block your airways. And abdominal fat may put pressure on the chest wall and , making sleep apnea more likely.
is an effective treatment for sleep apnea. It may not get rid of the disorder altogether, but it has been shown to reduce the symptoms. One found when obese adults went through a two-year weight reduction program, they lost weight and saw a reduction in sleep apnea events.
But weight loss is hard at the best of times and weight is easy to regain. And both circumstances are more likely when sleep apnea is messing with your sleep and weight management efforts.
Want to dive deeper? We’ve covered more on sleep apnea and weight gain .
Ozempic — and other semaglutide drugs like Wegovy and Rybelsus — could help with sleep apnea as they help you lose weight in a way that’s easier, more predictable, and more effective than other weight loss methods.
Ozempic can help users lose significant amounts of weight, too. And larger weight losses, such as , can lead to greater improvements in sleep apnea symptoms.
Tirzepatide drugs may have the same effect, and they can be even more effective for weight loss. There’s currently a randomized controlled trial on tirzepatide as a potential treatment for sleep apnea.
Glucose-like peptide 1 (GLP-1), a hormone in the intestines, regulates glucose levels and is impacted by sleep apnea.
shows that increasing sleep apnea severity correlates with a diminished GLP-1 response to glucose, suggesting that enhancing GLP-1 levels might benefit those with severe sleep apnea and abnormal glucose tolerance.
GLP-1 receptor agonists, such as Ozempic and Wegovy, which mimic GLP-1, show potential as sleep apnea treatments, although further research is needed.
Sleep apnea can also disrupt GLP-1 levels, as GLP-1 peak release, potentially affecting blood sugar regulation post-meals. If you have sleep apnea, there’s a good chance you’re sleep deprived.
And GLP-1 runs on a , peaking midday, and irregular sleep patterns, often a consequence or cause of sleep apnea, may further disrupt this hormonal balance.
Ozempic and other semaglutide drugs or tirzepatide drugs may improve your sleep outside of sleep apnea. They can help with obesity and diabetes — both of which are linked to beyond sleep apnea.
The healthy diet and exercise changes you’re encouraged to make on Ozempic can help you sleep better, and the drug may reduce your cravings for alcohol and cigarettes. Cutting down on these can help sleep, too.
Plus, a found social media reports of Ozempic improving insomnia for some people, as well as improving anxiety and depression, which can affect sleep.
The better your sleep, the easier you might find it to lose weight, which, in turn, may improve sleep apnea. Plus, the better your sleep, the better your energy, mood, focus, and health will be — even if you’re battling sleep apnea.
But Ozempic may also make your sleep worse by causing side effects like GI issues and anxiety, as well as daytime fatigue.
There’s limited research on the benefits of Ozempic and other incretin-based drugs for sleep apnea but here are some of the key findings so far:
That all being said, a only found nine studies with, what the research called, low-quality evidence showing GLP-1RAs could improve sleep apnea.
While some studies in the review showed GLP-1RAs improved daytime sleepiness, there were a few problems.
For example, sleep apnea wasn’t diagnosed with polysomnography (a sleep study), so it’s unclear if it really improved. Daytime sleepiness was self-rated and studies weren’t blinded (participants knew if they were taking the drug or not). This could cause inaccuracies and introduce recall bias, when participants don’t fully remember how they felt. Plus, studies were small and had short follow-up periods.
The review also states that while there’s some evidence GLP-1RAs could help sleep apnea alongside CPAP therapy, these studies have similar problems — they’re small and have short follow-up periods. So, once again, more research is needed.
The review stated CPAP therapy may still be a more effective treatment for sleep apnea. It says CPAP machines are also more accessible, don’t require constant prescriptions (which come with the risk of drug shortages), and they don’t come with the gastrointestinal side effects that GLP1-RAs can cause.
While there’s early promise GLP-1 receptor agonists may help sleep apnea, there’s indication it may not be a short-term treatment. You may have to take the drug for life for it to be effective.
A looked at what happens when you stop taking semaglutide. Participants got a shot once a week for 20 weeks, then a portion of them were switched to a placebo, while the rest carried on having semaglutide injections for another 48 weeks. Lifestyle interventions (better diet and exercise) continued in both groups.
Those who stopped the treatment gained weight, whereas those who continued taking semaglutide lost weight.
So, if the drug helps your sleep apnea because you’ve lost weight, you may have to continuously take it to prevent regaining the weight and reversing any sleep apnea improvements.
It’s worth noting, however, that other sleep apnea treatments, like CPAP machines and oral appliances, also require long-term use, while surgeries to lose weight or remove soft tissue from the back of the mouth, soft palate, or throat, for example, are permanent.
GLP-1 receptor agonists, like Ozempic and Wegovy, may be able to help those with sleep apnea, especially those who are obese and need to lose weight to improve their symptoms.
But before you rush off to get a prescription, there are a few more potential problems not highlighted by that :
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Treating sleep apnea usually requires combining multiple treatment options. Which ones are best for you will depend on how severe your condition is and whether you’re at risk of other problems like diabetes or heart disease.
Treatments for sleep apnea include a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine, weight loss, oral appliances, exercise, and lowering your sleep debt. Speak with your doctor to find the best sleep apnea treatment for you. They may recommend Ozempic or another incretin-based drug.
We’ve covered how to get rid of sleep apnea in more detail here.
Here are some of the most proven sleep apnea treatments:
This machine pushes air into your airways as you sleep to help keep them open. Different types of CPAP machines are available, including a full-face mask and nasal-only mask.
One states that weight reduction is a “very effective treatment” for overweight patients with sleep apnea, and goes so far as to say that it should always be included in the treatment of the sleep disorder when sleep apnea is linked to excess weight.
These are specially fitted devices, similar to a retainer or mouth guard, that work by holding your tongue down or bringing your jaw forward to create more space in your airways.
Exercise can not only help you lose weight and fall asleep, one found it was associated with a reduced incidence of mild and moderate sleep-disordered breathing. Decreasing exercise, on the other hand, was associated with worsening AHI scores.
Intense physical activity close to bedtime can keep you up, though. We’ve covered the best time to work out here. The RISE app can tell you the exact time you should avoid working out to protect your much-needed sleep.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can here.
Sleep debt is the measure of how much sleep you’ve missed out on recently. It’s compared to how much sleep you need, also known as your sleep need.
One found when participants only slept four hours a night for six nights they experienced more sleep apnea episodes. They also reported feeling more tired — unsurprisingly — and spent more time snoring during the night.
The RISE app can tell you what your individual sleep need is and work out how much sleep debt you’re carrying.
When we looked at the sleep needs of 1.95 million RISE users aged 24 and up, we found it ranged from five hours to 11 hours 30 minutes. But almost half needed eight hours or more sleep a night.
You can pay back sleep debt by:
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can and .
Get more sleep when you have sleep apnea by improving your sleep hygiene. This is the set of daily behaviors that can help you fall and stay asleep. If sleep apnea is already disrupting your sleep, you don’t want factors you can control (like when you drink coffee or eat dinner) to cause any further sleep disruption.
Getting enough sleep can help you feel better day to day, boost your weight loss efforts, and avoid worsening sleep apnea.
Here’s what to do:
The RISE app can guide you through 20+ sleep hygiene habits each day and tell you the ideal time to do each one to make them more effective.
RISE users on iOS 1.202 and above can .
Incretin-based drugs like Ozempic show promise as a sleep apnea treatment as they can help obese people lose significant amounts of weight, and weight loss has been shown to improve sleep apnea. But the science proving they work and that they’re safe for those with the sleep disorder is still underway.
Speak to your healthcare provider if you have sleep apnea to find the best treatment options for you. This may include medication, sleeping with a CPAP machine, or lifestyle interventions like losing weight through diet and exercise.
Keeping your sleep debt low can also reduce sleep apnea symptoms and improving your sleep hygiene can help you get the sleep and energy you need, whether you’re taking these drugs or not.
The RISE app can work out how much sleep debt you have and track it as you work to pay it back. RISE can also guide you through 20+ sleep hygiene habits to help you fall and stay asleep each night, helping you make the most of the sleep you get with sleep apnea.
Users say RISE helps them make the most of their sleep.
“I’m sleeping better regardless of time asleep (we all know life happens) because it’ll give me notifications about when to stop drinking coffee and alcohol, and when my ideal time to go to bed is.” .
And the app works fast too — 80% of RISE users feel more energy within five days.
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RISE makes it easy to improve your sleep and daily energy to reach your potential
