Morbidly obese individuals often experience disrupted sleep due to obesity hypoventilation disorder (OHS) and/or obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Obesity hypoventilation disorder: A large abdomen can press up against the diaphragm and cause shortness of breath. As the condition progresses, carbon dioxide can build up in the bloodstream, potentially leading to Pickwickian Syndrome, a condition that results in heart failure.
Obstructive sleep apnea: This disease, which is characterized in part by heavy snoring, causes sufferers to periodically stop breathing in their sleep. When the tissues in the neck become too bulky, space for airflow is compromised. When you enter the deep phase of sleep, your muscles relax, causing the tongue to fall backward and obstruct the already reduced space. At this point, your breathing stops, and the lack of oxygen eventually signals your brain to wake you up. Episodes of sleep apnea can occur up to 100 times in one night.
A study of sleep-induced breathing disorders found that LAP-BAND surgery had solved sleep apnea problems in 98 percent of the patients who experienced sleep apnea before their surgery.