This leaves the person feeling unrefreshed in the morning. The result of disrupted sleep is daytime sleepiness. Usually the more overweight someone is, the more narrow their upper airway. This puts them at greater risk for apnea because less air can flow through a narrow airway and there is a greater chance of a narrow airway collapsing fully during the night. The risk is even greater when sleeping on the back as opposed to the side or on the stomach.
Weight loss is one of the first steps in the fight against sleep apnea.
Similar to obesity, individuals with a large neck tend to have a more narrow upper airway. This can increase the chances of having an upper airway obstruction during the night. Generally, a large neck size would be a circumference greater than 17 inches for men and greater than 16 inches for women. Some people, even those who are not obese, naturally have a narrow upper airway. Some tissues can be very large and cause an obstruction due to overcrowding.