For many people with chronic nasal polyps, sleep problems are common. One survey found that nearly half of the participants managing chronic sinus infections with nasal polyps reported that the polyps had a significant impact on their ability to get a good night’s rest.
And without proper treatment, the number of people losing sleep due to nasal polyps skyrockets. Research shows that as many as 90 percent of people with severe, uncontrolled chronic sinusitis with nasal polyps have significant problems with sleep quality.
Keep reading to learn why nasal polyps interrupt sleep, plus steps you can take to get more z’s.
How Nasal Polyps Can Affect Your Sleep
While factors such as stress and anxiety can worsen sleep, so can physical issues, such as nasal polyps. “Any sort of obstructive issues of the upper airway and the nasal cavity can significantly impact your ability to pass air through your nose,” says Kibwei McKinney, MD, an otolaryngologist specializing in rhinology and nasal surgery at SSM Health Medical Group in Oklahoma City.
This can then can affect your ability to sleep. Many people with nasal polyps report having insomnia, defined as difficulty falling asleep or staying asleep or waking up too early.
People with nasal polyps also frequently snore. And snoring can be an indication of something obstructing your nasal cavity, whether it’s a deviated septum or nasal polyps. The more severe the polyps, the more likely they are to cause sleep problems, Dr. McKinney explains.
Some people with nasal polyps can eventually develop obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a sleep disorder in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts throughout the night, reducing airflow. You may not be aware that this is happening when you sleep, but you may feel tired and unrefreshed the next day as a result.Studies have found that as many as 25 percent of participants with chronic nasal polyps reported excessive daytime sleepiness, which is an indicator of OSA.
Strategies to Improve Your Sleep When You Have Nasal Polyps
If nasal polyps are preventing you from getting a good night’s sleep, there are some simple steps you can take to improve nasal drainage and reduce sinus pressure, which can help you get the rest you need:
Use a saline nasal rinse before bed. “When nasal polyps form, they can obstruct the sinus drainage pathways, which cause an accumulation of mucus,” McKinney says. “Washing that mucus out will clear the nasal airway and allow you to breathe better through your nose.”
Follow up with a nasal steroid spray, if prescribed. Steroids can reduce inflammation and polyp size, clearing nasal passages even more. But if you do use a steroid, be sure to spray it after you use a saline rinse. “If you do it in the opposite [order], you just wash out all of the medication,” McKinney explains.
Elevate your head. Whether you use extra pillows or a wedge pillow, elevating your head can improve nasal drainage and help keep your nasal passages more open.
Stay up to date on nasal polyp treatments. Keep regular appointments with your otolaryngologist (ear, nose, and throat doctor), so they can track the size and number of nasal polyps you have and make sure treatments are working. These may include antibiotics for underlying infections, biologics to reduce nasal polyp size, allergy medication to reduce nasal symptoms, or surgery to remove polyps.
The bottom line: If you’re not sleeping well, talk to your doctor. Beyond treatment for nasal polyps, it’s also possible to get a sleep study to see if other issues, such as OSA, are affecting your sleep. This can sometimes be treated with surgery or by using a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) machine in bed, allowing you to get more restful sleep.
The Takeaway
Many people with nasal polyps have sleep problems, including snoring and sleep apnea.
You can get a better night’s sleep by making sure you stick to nasal polyp treatment during the day; use a saline nasal rinse, followed by a nasal steroid spray, before bed; and elevate your head while you sleep.
Your doctor can also help you look for other causes of sleep problems that may be contributing to insufficient sleep and help you find possible solutions.
EDITORIAL SOURCES
Everyday Health follows strict sourcing guidelines to ensure the accuracy of its content, outlined in our editorial policy. We use only trustworthy sources, including peer-reviewed studies, board-certified medical experts, patients with lived experience, and information from top institutions.
Resources
Eftekhari S et al. Life With Nasal Polyps: The Patient Experience and Opportunities to Improve Care in the U.S. [PDF]. Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. 2024.
Jessica Lee, MD, practices general otolaryngology at Charleston ENT and Allergy in South Carolina. After several years in clinical and surgical practice, Dr. Lee wanted to learn more about the impact of nutrition, activity, and sleep on general health and ear, nose, and throat health, so she pursued additional training in integrative, lifestyle, and functional medicine topics and became board-certified in lifestyle medicine in 2021.
Her practice centers on first addressing the lifestyle causes of disease and chronic illness, with the understanding and ability to use medical and surgical care for more acute concerns. She is also the co-founder and director of the Keto Hope Foundation, a nonprofit dedicated to helping families use the ketogenic diet as medical treatment for epilepsy
Lee enjoys cooking, strength training, reading, and spending time with friends and family.
Erica Patino is a freelance writer and editor, content strategist, and usability specialist who has worked for a variety of online health outlets, including Healthline, Sharecare, and Twill Care. She was previously a senior editor at Everyday Health. She is also the founder and editor-in-chief of Hear 2 Tell, a website that covers advances in hearing loss treatment. Patino lives in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and twin sons.
