Cervical positional effects on snoring and apneas.

We examined the effects of cervical position on the Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome (OSAS) through the use of a custom-designed cervical pillow which promoted neck extension. Twelve subjects with OSAS were recruited from a tertiary sleep disorder clinic population. Of the twelve subjects, three had mild cases of OSAS, four had moderate cases, and the remaining five had severe cases. The subjects used their usual pillows during two consecutive recorded baseline nights in our laboratory. The subjects then used the cervical pillow for five days at home, and returned for two consecutive recorded nights at our laboratory while using the cervical pillow. During the nights in our laboratory, the subjects completed questionnaires, were videotaped to record head and body position, and had their breathing parameters recorded during sleep. Subjects with mild OSAS cases had a non-significant improvement in the severity of their snoring and a significant improvement in their respiratory disturbance index with the cervical pillow, while subjects with moderate OSAS cases showed no improvement in these parameters. Subjects with severe OSAS cases showed slight improvement in some measures of their abnormal respiratory events during the experimental period.