A new study suggests that popular weight-loss drugs like Ozempic and Zepbound may help people with obesity and type 2 diabetes sleep better.
Specifically, the research found that these drugs could lower the need for a CPAP machine, which is often used to treat sleep apnea.
Sleep apnea is a condition where a person’s airway closes during sleep. This causes loud snoring and makes the person wake up many times at night because they stop breathing. A CPAP machine is a common treatment that helps keep the airway open by pushing air through a mask.
The study, published in JAMA Network Open, looked at the medical records of more than 93,000 people. All of them had obesity, type 2 diabetes, and sleep apnea. They were prescribed a type of medicine called a GLP-1 drug.
These medications include semaglutide (Ozempic, Wegovy) and tirzepatide (Zepbound, Mounjaro). GLP-1 drugs help lower blood sugar, reduce appetite, and slow down digestion, which often leads to weight loss.
Researchers compared patients taking GLP-1 drugs to those taking a different type of diabetes medicine called SGLT2 inhibitors.
After nearly a year, they found that people on GLP-1 drugs were 8% less likely to start using a CPAP machine for their sleep apnea. These patients were also 10% less likely to be hospitalized and 32% less likely to die from any cause during the study period.
According to the study’s senior author, Dr. Yong Chen from the University of Pennsylvania, the results match earlier research showing that GLP-1 drugs can improve sleep apnea, likely because they help with weight loss. Losing fat, especially around the neck and throat, can make the airway less likely to collapse during sleep.
Dr. Gary Wohlberg, a sleep expert who was not involved in the study, said these findings match what doctors are seeing in real life. He explained that having extra fat around the airway makes it easier for the airway to close while sleeping. As people lose weight, this pressure goes down, and their sleep improves.
Wohlberg also offered simple tips for people with sleep apnea. He said sleeping on your back makes the problem worse because your tongue and jaw can fall backward and block the airway. Instead, try sleeping on your side or with your head slightly raised.
While this study shows promising results, doctors still say CPAP machines are the main treatment for sleep apnea. However, these findings add to the growing list of benefits from GLP-1 drugs. They not only help with diabetes and weight loss but may also improve sleep and reduce the risk of serious health problems.
More research is needed to fully understand how these drugs help with sleep apnea, but for now, they appear to offer new hope for people struggling with both diabetes and poor sleep.
If you care about weight loss, please read studies that hop extract could reduce belly fat in overweight people, and early time-restricted eating could help lose weight.
For more health information, please see recent studies that Mediterranean diet can reduce belly fat much better, and Keto diet could help control body weight and blood sugar in diabetes.
Copyright © 2025 Knowridge Science Report. All rights reserved.
