'Social Apnoea' Could Be Ruining Your Sleep On The Weekends

Person sleepingObstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) is estimated to affect about 10 million people in the UK.People with the condition struggle to breathe well during their sleep. It can make sufferers very tired, and can show through loud snoring (speaking to HuffPost UK previously, Professor Esther Rodriguez-Villegas said women may experience “insomnia, headaches, and mood disturbances” instead of, or as well as, this).OSA, which has been associated with an increased risk of heart disease, is sometimes diagnosed with a single-night sleep test.But new research has found that “social apnoea” might make OSA symptoms worse on some nights than others.What is “social apnoea”?The researchers, whose work was published in The American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, coined the term to describe their findings – namely, that people with OSA were 18% more likely to have moderate to severe symptoms on a Saturday than they were in the middle of the week. And if participants with OSA slept in 45 minutes longer on a weekend morning than they would on a weekday, they were as much as 47% more likely to get more severe symptoms. They found this by looking at data from 70,052 people (81% of whom were middle-aged men) who had been given a mattress sensor for an average of 500 nights. Participants came from 23 different countries. The study’s lead author, Dr Lucia Pinilla, said: “Sleep apnoea is already a major public health issue, but our findings suggest its true impact may be underestimated.“Most clinical diagnostic testing is done on a single night, typically a weeknight, missing the weekend effect we’re now calling social apnoea.”Why would “social apnoea” appear on the weekends?The effect was not evenly distributed in the group – people of different ages and genders had varying risks. The likelihood of experiencing “social OSA” was 21% for men in the study compared to 9% of women, for instance. Meanwhile, the effect was stronger among people under 60 (24% higher) than those aged 60 and over (7%).Study co-author Professor Danny Eckert said: “We don’t yet know exactly why, but alcohol use, lighter sleep, and less consistent use of OSA therapies likely play a role”.How can I reduce the risk of “social apnoea”?Professor Eckhart advised people with OSA to “Try to keep the same sleep schedule throughout the week and weekend, ensuring that you get the recommended 7-9 hours of sleep a night.“Keeping a fixed wake-up time and using your prescribed OSA therapy, even on weekends, and going to bed when you feel sleepy will help ensure you frequently get enough restorative sleep, which can help combat the weekend spike in OSA,” he added.Related...An Ancient Ritual May Help To Relieve Exhausting Sleep ConditionThis Is The Best Position To Sleep In During A HeatwaveAlways Unwell? A Huge New Study Suggests It Could Be Your Sleep Schedule

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I ignored my itchy legs and common sleep complaint. Then doctors found something horrifying on a scan. I'd left it far too late