Getting patients to sleep on their side could be the most effective form of treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea – a severe snoring condition that can have deadly complications.

The condition occurs when the walls of the throat relax during sleep, blocking the airways.

The majority of patients – about 75 per cent – have positional sleep apnoea, which is triggered by sleeping on their back. 

Now researchers have found that using a positional therapy device, which ensures patients sleep on their side, is an effective long-term treatment for the condition, which can trigger a higher risk of heart disease and stroke.

The findings were presented at the 2026 American Thoracic Society International Conference last week. 

Researchers found that the treatment leads to long-term improvement for patients, even after active treatment is stopped.

After six months of using a positional device, more than two-thirds of patients continued to sleep on their sides and were able to control their sleep apnoea without treatment. This effect remained even a year later.

There are positional devices available for sale already – for example, a belt that vibrates when the user rolls on to their back, prompting them to switch position, or a vest with a ball sewn into the back.

Obstructive sleep apnoea is a severe snoring condition that can have deadly complications. The condition occurs when the walls of the throat relax during sleep, blocking the airways. (Stock image)

Currently there is no drug licensed for sleep apnoea, and patients are often prescribed continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) – a machine that delivers air through a mask, worn at night, to keep the airways open. 

But as many as half of patients struggle to stick to using CPAP masks due to discomfort.

Experts say the latest findings could provide a simple solution for those patients.

‘We observed that positional therapy was not only effective – comparable to CPAP – but also better tolerated,’ said Dr Irene Cano-Pumarega, head of the sleep unit at Madrid’s Ramon y Cajal Hospital and one of the scientists behind the research.