Short answer: With obstructive sleep apnoea, the airway in your throat keeps closing briefly during sleep. In about half of people with sleep apnoea this is clearly worse on the back. You cannot diagnose sleep apnoea yourself; that needs a sleep study through your GP.
What is sleep apnoea?
With obstructive sleep apnoea, the airway in your throat repeatedly closes partly or completely during sleep. Your breathing stalls, your oxygen level drops and your brain briefly wakes you, often without you noticing. That can happen dozens of times an hour. It is common: according to a global estimate, close to a billion adults have some form of obstructive sleep apnoea.13
How do you recognise it?
- Loud and irregular snoring, with silences in which you do not breathe
- Waking up gasping or choking
- Sleepy or tired during the day, even after a full night
- Headache or a dry mouth in the morning
- Trouble concentrating
Do you recognise this in yourself or your partner? Then see your GP. Sleep apnoea is diagnosed with a sleep study, and untreated sleep apnoea can harm your health in the long run.
The role of your sleep position
As early as the 1980s it was observed that in some patients the breathing pauses occurred mainly on the back.11 A review of sixteen studies shows that in an average of 56 percent of people with obstructive sleep apnoea, the severity clearly depends on position, with the back as the least favourable one.1 Doctors then speak of positional sleep apnoea.
Positional therapy
With positional sleep apnoea, a doctor may recommend positional therapy: avoiding the back position during sleep as much as possible, sometimes with a device that wakes you when you turn onto your back. A Cochrane review found that positional therapy lowers the number of breathing pauses compared with no treatment, but less than CPAP, the breathing machine that is often prescribed.2 Which treatment suits you is something you decide with your doctor.
Where SleepLab One does and does not fit
SleepLab One is not a treatment for sleep apnoea and does not replace CPAP, a mouth guard or any other advice from your doctor. What the mattress does do is make sleeping on your stomach comfortable. Thanks to the face opening your head faces straight down, with room around your nose and mouth. Has your doctor advised you to spend less time on your back, and are you a natural stomach sleeper? Then the mattress is a comfortable way to keep that position up. Always discuss this with your doctor first.
Read also: snoring: causes and tips and stomach sleeping and snoring.
Frequently asked questions
What is positional sleep apnoea?
Sleep apnoea in which the breathing pauses are clearly more frequent or more severe on the back than on the side or stomach. That applies to about half of people with obstructive sleep apnoea.
Does avoiding sleeping on your back help with sleep apnoea?
With positional sleep apnoea, positional therapy can lower the number of breathing pauses. It is less effective than CPAP. Always discuss with your doctor which treatment suits you.
Is SleepLab One a treatment for sleep apnoea?
No. SleepLab One is not a medical device. It makes sleeping on your stomach comfortable, but does not replace a diagnosis or treatment.
Updated on 22 October 2026.
SleepLab One is not a medical device and does not replace a diagnosis or treatment. If your symptoms persist, talk to your GP or physiotherapist. The studies the numbers refer to are listed in the references; they are about sleep position and mattresses in general, not about this mattress.