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Sydney Morning Herald
10 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
Sleeping in on the weekend? You could be triggering ‘social apnoea'
If you're struggling to get through the Monday slump, 'social apnoea' may be to blame. Published Wednesday in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, an Australian-led team of researchers analysed global data from more than 70,000 people, finding a significant and consistent increase in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) on weekends. What is obstructive sleep apnoea? Obstructive sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder in which airways are partially or completely blocked during sleep. The condition is associated with higher all-cause mortality, and if left untreated, increases the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, cognitive impairment and motor vehicle crashes. Common symptoms include daytime sleepiness, loud snoring and pauses in breathing during sleep others may notice. What did this new study find? Professor Danny Eckert, director of Flinders' Health and Medical Research Sleep Health Centre and senior author on the paper, says the research was significant for its scale. Most clinical diagnoses of sleep apnoea are based on only a single night's data, usually collected on a weekday. By collecting data from participants with an under-mattress tracker, they were 'able to measure people over multiple nights, and in this case, on average using about one year's worth of data,' says Eckert.
ABC News
5 hours ago
- ABC News
Could conches put snoring to bed?
Andy Park: Well, it's a distinctive sound usually found on the salty trade winds of the Blue Pacific, which may replace the far more infuriating sound of your partner's night-time snoring. Yes, one bizarre sleep apnoea study released this week suggests blowing on a conch, yes a conch shell, may be the key to night-time happiness for everyone. And let's face it, people have probably done worse in the search for a good night's sleep. Myles Houlbrook-Walk reports. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Could this be the answer to ending this? On the streets of Sydney, those living alongside snorers are open to all sorts of solutions. Opinion: Very distracting. I don't think I could sleep with anyone that snores. There's a 12 person room, there's at least three people though snored. The person above me and the person next to me snored. And for doing like 25,000 steps a day in Europe, walking around and getting like no sleep because of snoring, it was rough. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: A new study released this week by the European Respiratory Society and carried out by a research institute in India, looked at 30 people with obstructive sleep apnoea. It required them to play a conch seashell, specifically a shunk in this instance, for 15 minutes a day, five days a week. The study found those who practice shunk blowing as a low cost breathing technique were less sleepy during the day and had better quality sleep at night. The findings were especially exciting to Karen, who's not keen on using a sleep apnoea machine. Karen: And the doctor actually suggested one of those, you know, breathing machines. When you've been married 40 years, that would be like the icing on the cake for the death-knell of the marriage. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: I think hearing something like that, would you ever be willing to practice? Karen: I don't know. I've got a conch shell at home. Maybe I'll give it a go. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: You're kidding. Karen: Yeah, I've got a little one from the islands when I did used to sail back in the, in the eighties. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: You know how to blow into it and all that? Karen: Not really, but I'm sure I could try. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Do you think if you suggested it to your husband, he'd be, Karen: he'd think I've completely lost the pot. I'd have a crack at it. I think anything that, that helps, you know, um, tried pillows. I've tried loads of different things, but yeah, I'm just a mouth mouth breather snorer. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Dr Kat Lederle is a sleep therapist in the United Kingdom. She told the BBC, this study fits in with other data around improving respiratory muscles. Dr Kat Lederle: So what that probably does is it strengthens the muscles in the face, in the sort of firings in the thoracic area. And it's really, it's the regular practice. And there are other similar studies looking at other instruments and looking at other exercises that all involve basically the face and sort of the neck, the muscles there to strengthen them and to then stop them from collapsing at night. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: Dr Moira Junge is the CEO of the Sleep Foundation and was not involved in the study. She says it's a novel idea. Dr Moira Junge: It is curious. I've never, um, hadn't heard of this before, even though I have heard of ancient healing things like, you know, with Buteyko methods and things like that. So we don't have standard guidelines or it's not a validated part of therapy for sleep apnoea at this stage at least. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: But she warned the sleep industry can be prone to solutions that are not yet substantively proven to be effective and recommended pursuing other means of treatment under the guidance of a healthcare professional. Across the board, Dr Moira Junge says practising good sleep hygiene is crucial. Dr Moira Junge: Consistent sleep patterns, being very aware of the light and the dark. So being in really bright light conditions when you want to be alert. So during the day and in the night-time, plunging yourself into dim light conditions and less stress, unwinding, unplugging before bed. And that doesn't mean just phones and screens. It's like unplugging from your busy mind, unplugging from responsibilities. Myles Houlbrook-Walk: She says more research needs to be done before this can become a promising alternative. Andy Park: Miles Houlbrook-Walk there.
West Australian
6 hours ago
- West Australian
Social apnea: The new sleep disorder trend that has experts concerned
Australian researchers have identified a new sleep disorder trend, dubbed 'social apnea', potentially sparked by weekend lifestyle choices including late nights, alcohol and smoking. An international study from Flinders University found a 'consistent and significant' increase in the severity of obstructive sleep apnea on weekends, which they have attributed to lifestyle choices and irregular sleep patterns. The findings have prompted fears the true impact of sleep apnea, or sleep disordered breathing, may be underestimated, placing sufferers at greater risk of health conditions including heart disease, depression, dementia and extreme fatigue. The research, published in the prestigious American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, analysed data from more than 70,000 people. It found participants were 18 per cent more likely to have moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea on Saturdays, compared to Wednesdays. Lead author Lucia Pinilla, from Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute Sleep Health, said changes in sleep schedules, such as late nights or sleep ins, worsened sleep apnea. 'Most clinical diagnostic testing is done on a single night, typically a weeknight, missing the weekend effect we're now calling social apnea,' Dr Pinilla said. The study found sleeping an extra 45 minutes or more on weekends increased the risk of worse sleep apnea by 47 per cent. Men were 21 per cent more likely to be affected, compared to a 9 per cent increase in women. Those aged under 60 had a 24 per cent higher risk of obstructive sleep apnea on weekends. The study offers the first evidence that sleep apnea severity increases on weekends, which senior author and FHMIR Sleep Health director Danny Eckert said was significant. 'We don't yet know exactly why, but alcohol use, lighter sleep, and less consistent use of OSA therapies likely play a role,' Professor Eckert said. He said the findings highlighted the need for sleep assessments to be carried out over numerous nights. 'Relying on a single-night sleep study may miss important variations, leading to underdiagnosis or misclassification of OSA severity,' he said. To combat 'social apnea', Professor Eckert recommended a regular sleep routine and aiming for seven to nine hours of sleep each 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.'
