Researchers studied over 8,700 Americans to understand if eating foods that are good for your gut bacteria might help prevent sleep apnea—a condition where people stop breathing briefly during sleep. They found that people who ate diets that support healthy gut bacteria had a lower risk of developing sleep apnea, especially women. While this doesn’t prove that changing your diet will cure sleep apnea, it suggests that the foods you eat and the bacteria in your stomach might be connected to how well you sleep at night.

The Quick Take

  • What they studied: Whether eating foods that promote healthy gut bacteria is linked to a lower risk of obstructive sleep apnea (a sleep disorder where breathing stops and starts during sleep)
  • Who participated: 8,707 American adults with an average age of 48 years old, almost equally split between men and women, who participated in a national health survey between 2015 and 2018
  • Key finding: People who ate diets better for their gut bacteria had about 3% lower odds of having sleep apnea. This relationship was stronger in women than in men.
  • What it means for you: Eating foods that support healthy gut bacteria might help reduce sleep apnea risk, but this study doesn’t prove that changing your diet will cure the condition. Talk to your doctor about whether dietary changes could help your specific situation.

The Research Details

This was a cross-sectional study, which means researchers looked at information from a large group of people at one point in time rather than following them over years. They used data from the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey (NHANES), a program that regularly checks the health of Americans. Researchers created a special scoring system called the Literature-Based Dietary Index for Gut Microbiota (LBDI-GM) that rates how well someone’s diet supports healthy gut bacteria based on scientific research. They then looked at whether people with higher scores on this index were less likely to have sleep apnea, which was measured through health questionnaires. The researchers used advanced statistical methods to account for other factors that might affect sleep apnea risk, like age, weight, and smoking.

This research approach is important because it’s one of the first studies to look at the connection between gut-friendly diets and sleep apnea. By using a large, representative sample of Americans, the findings may apply to many people. The statistical adjustments help ensure that the connection between diet and sleep apnea isn’t just due to other factors like obesity or age.

This study has some strengths: it included a large number of people from a nationally representative survey, and researchers carefully adjusted for many confounding factors. However, there are limitations: sleep apnea was self-reported rather than diagnosed by a sleep specialist, which could mean some cases were missed or misidentified. The study shows association, not causation—we can’t say that changing your diet will definitely prevent sleep apnea. Additionally, the effect size was small (3% reduction in odds), which means the practical impact may be modest.

What the Results Show

Among the 8,707 participants studied, those with higher scores on the gut-friendly diet index had significantly lower odds of having obstructive sleep apnea. Specifically, for each point increase on the diet index, the odds of having sleep apnea decreased by about 3%. This relationship held true even after researchers accounted for many other factors that could influence sleep apnea, such as age, sex, body weight, smoking status, and other health conditions. When researchers looked at men and women separately, the protective effect was much stronger in women than in men, suggesting that women may benefit more from eating a gut-friendly diet when it comes to sleep apnea risk.

The sex-based differences were particularly notable. Women who ate diets that better supported their gut bacteria showed a clearer connection to lower sleep apnea risk compared to men. This suggests that the relationship between diet, gut health, and sleep apnea may work differently in men versus women, possibly due to hormonal differences or other biological factors.

This is one of the first studies to directly examine the connection between a gut-microbiota-focused diet and sleep apnea risk. Previous research has shown that gut bacteria influence many aspects of health, including inflammation and immune function, both of which are thought to play roles in sleep apnea. This study builds on that knowledge by suggesting that dietary patterns supporting healthy gut bacteria may be a modifiable factor for sleep apnea prevention.

The study has several important limitations. First, sleep apnea was diagnosed based on self-reported questionnaires rather than sleep studies, which are the gold standard for diagnosis. This means some people with sleep apnea may not have known they had it, and some people may have incorrectly reported having it. Second, this is a cross-sectional study, so we can’t determine whether the diet caused the lower sleep apnea risk or whether people with sleep apnea simply changed their diets. Third, the effect size was small (3% reduction), which may have limited practical significance. Finally, the study population was from the United States, so results may not apply to other countries with different diets and populations.

The Bottom Line

Based on this research, eating foods that support healthy gut bacteria—such as fiber-rich foods, whole grains, fruits, vegetables, and fermented foods—may help reduce sleep apnea risk. However, this should not replace medical treatment for sleep apnea. If you have symptoms of sleep apnea (loud snoring, gasping for air at night, daytime sleepiness), see a doctor for proper diagnosis and treatment. Dietary changes may be a helpful addition to other treatments, but they shouldn’t be your only approach. Confidence level: Moderate—this is suggestive evidence, not definitive proof.

This research is most relevant to people who are at risk for or concerned about sleep apnea, particularly women. It may also interest people with gut health issues, since the diet index focuses on foods that support healthy bacteria. However, people already diagnosed with sleep apnea should continue following their doctor’s treatment plan (such as using a CPAP machine) rather than relying solely on diet changes. People with severe sleep apnea should not delay medical treatment.

If you decide to change your diet to support gut health, you shouldn’t expect immediate changes in sleep apnea symptoms. Gut bacteria take time to change—typically several weeks to months. Sleep quality improvements, if they occur, would likely develop gradually over months rather than days or weeks.

Want to Apply This Research?

  • Track daily intake of gut-friendly foods: servings of vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, and fermented foods (like yogurt or sauerkraut). Aim for a specific target, such as 5+ servings of fruits and vegetables daily, and log weekly totals.
  • Use the app to set a weekly goal for eating more fiber-rich and fermented foods. Create reminders to include one gut-friendly food at each meal, and log your choices to build awareness of your dietary patterns.
  • Track sleep quality metrics (if available in your app) alongside dietary choices over 8-12 weeks to see if improvements in gut-friendly eating correlate with better sleep. Also monitor any changes in sleep apnea symptoms like snoring or daytime tiredness, and share this data with your healthcare provider.

This research suggests an association between gut-friendly diets and lower sleep apnea risk, but it does not prove that dietary changes will prevent or cure sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a serious medical condition that requires professional diagnosis and treatment. If you suspect you have sleep apnea (symptoms include loud snoring, pauses in breathing during sleep, or excessive daytime sleepiness), consult a healthcare provider for proper evaluation and treatment. Do not use dietary changes as a substitute for medical treatment such as CPAP therapy or other doctor-recommended interventions. Always discuss any significant dietary changes with your healthcare provider, especially if you have existing health conditions or take medications.