Until recently, many doctors viewed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) as a man’s disease, leaving many women undiagnosed — and untreated. Now, emerging research and treatments are finally correcting course.
One new treatment generating particular excitement is a “sleep apnea pill” — a nightly medication that’s been found to effectively treat the chronic sleep disorder.
The pill demonstrated success in a large clinical trial, helping improve sleep apnea in patients with mild, moderate, and severe sleep apnea by between 47% and 56%. FDA approval is expected as early as 2026 and, if that happens, it would become the first pill specifically for OSA.
Getting to the Root of Sleep Apnea
The pill contains two parts that work together to maintain muscular tone, preventing the airway from collapsing. The first, aroxybutynin, stabilizes the upper airway when you’re at rest, and the second, atomoxetine, activates muscles to keep it open.
“Together, they work to strengthen the upper airway muscle activity to reduce the collapsed airway,” said Ana Sánchez-Azofra, MD, a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of California San Diego, at the World Sleep 2025 conference in Singapore in September.
Researchers gauge the effectiveness of this new medication by looking at the severity of sleep apnea symptoms, measured by counting each time a person stops breathing and each time they fail to get adequate oxygen during sleep.
Aside from daytime fatigue, breathing interruptions during sleep can cause blood oxygen to drop. When levels dip below 90%, it can be dangerous, increasing the risk for serious conditions like heart attack, stroke, chronic kidney disease, and type 2 diabetes.
Meeting the Needs of Women With Sleep Apnea
Roughly a third of the U.S. population has sleep apnea, but diagnosis and treatment are lacking. The most well-known and widely used treatment is a CPAP (continuous positive airway pressure) machine, a face mask that delivers continuous air through the nose and mouth and keeps the airway open during sleep.
The problem: Lots of patients prescribed CPAP don’t use it. “Even in those who initiate CPAP treatment, adherence remains a significant issue,” Sánchez-Azofra said. More than 60% either use it inconsistently or stop using it altogether.
Adherence rates for women, particularly younger women, are especially low. One large 2020 analysis of patients prescribed CPAP found that only about half of women under 30 actually used it, compared to 80% of 71- to 80-year-old men. Possible reasons could be related to lifestyle or social pressure — younger age groups may have less regular sleep schedules due to work or socializing, and women across all ages may have greater reluctance to use CPAP if OSA is viewed as a male disease.
But OSA also affects women differently. Women may have milder sleep apnea based on standard measures and more subtle airflow limitations that don’t show up clearly on common tests. Because of this, doctors may struggle to find the best CPAP pressure settings for women. Some research suggests women also have a lower “arousal threshold” — and, therefore, tend to wake up more easily — so they may experience more fragmented sleep and find it harder to adapt to CPAP use.
Researchers found that the pill was effective at both keeping the airway open and reducing the negative consequences of OSA, like an increased risk of heart attack and stroke.
In all, more than half of patients who used the medication experienced significantly reduced sleep apnea symptoms, and 22% no longer had symptoms. It was found to be well tolerated with only mild side effects like dry mouth, urinary hesitancy, and sleepiness.
When Can You Get the New Pill?
Experts expect the FDA to review the sleep apnea pill for approval in 2026, though this process takes time — and, even after approval, wide distribution often lags.
If you have OSA and want to be ready, talk to your doctor about whether you might be a good candidate for this treatment and what steps you can take now to improve your chances of responding to the medication. Make sure your current treatment is optimized; if you’re using a CPAP or other device, make sure it’s fitted properly and working for you. You could also ask your doctor whether you might qualify for a clinical trial.
