Are you going into a social overprint when the weekend takes place? You probably know that the behaviors that can go with the party – overeat, drink, smoke, stand again late – are not perfect for your health.
“Most clinical diagnoses of obstructive sleep apnea are based on a single night of data, generally on weekdays, missing the effect of the weekend,” explains the main author Lucia Pinilla, PHD, researcher in the Department of Sleep Health at Flinders Health and Medical Research Institute in Adelaide, Australia.
“This is the first time that we have been able to see natural models on a global scale that obstructive sleep apnea has worsens on weekends,” explains Dr. Pinilla.
In their study, Pinilla and his team found that the subjects were 18% more likely to have moderate to severe obstructive sleep apnea on weekends (Saturday) compared to mid-4 (Wednesday).
The researchers invented a new unofficial term for this phenomenon: social apnea.
Sleep disorders make a point on weekends
The analysis published this week was based on data of more than 70,000 people from 23 countries, each supervised with a validated sub-filled sensor during a sleep study. Participants were 53 years old on average and the majority (81%) were men.
The researchers used a standardized scale to assess the severity of the participants’ sleep apnea, based on the number of respiratory breaks (apnea) and shallow breathing (hypopneas) per hour during sleep.
Sex and age can influence the risk of social apnea
In addition to finding that subjects were 18% more likely to have moderate to severe obstructive obstructive apnea on weekends compared to the week, researchers also discovered sexual and age distinctions.
Age also made a difference. Subjects under the age of 60 had a risk of 24% higher on weekends, against a risk of 7% higher for 60 years and over.
Beware of the “social jetlag” and the dangers of sleeping
Study authors note that the increase in social plans on weekends can create sleep problems similar to Jetlag due to changes in sleep hours and too much sleep.
“Many people sleep later and longer on weekends, changing essentially from their body clock as if they had stolen in a different time zone,” explains Pinilla.
The results stressed that sleep of an additional 45 minutes or more on weekends increased the risk of sleep apnea worse by 47%.
What is sleep apnea doing on the body?
- Diabetes
- Strokes
- Heart attack
- Dementia
- Depression
How weekend behaviors can be a bad influence
“This study is a good reminder for everyone to re-examine the behavior of the weekend in the name of sleep, like staying late, sleeping and drinking alcohol,” explains Nitun Verma, MD, sleep doctor and spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.
Although Dr. Verma rents the study for his large number of participants, he underlines that the reports from home devices will still not be as precise as laboratory tests and that future research should include more women. In addition, investigators note that the study was partly supported by financing with Withings, manufacturers of the sleep surveillance system used in research.
As for why alcohol aggravates apnea, Verma notes that it relaxes the throat muscles, which is more easily collapsing. “Alcohol consumption also makes it more difficult for your brain to wake you up when the breathing stops, so events last longer,” explains Verma, which was not involved in the study.
He adds that paradoxical sleep – a deep sleep type that people can get more weekend – can worsen apnea because the throat muscles can become “essentially paralyzed”, which makes the respiratory tract more likely to collapse and hinder breathing.
Smoking can also exacerbate the condition by causing inflammation and swelling in the upper respiratory tract, and the weight gain of the overeating on weekends can make it more difficult to breathe.
How to fight against social apnea
Pinilla offers the following advice to avoid social apnea:
- Try to practice healthy lifestyles, even during the weekend, avoid smoking and limit your alcohol consumption.
- Maintain a coherent sleeping schedule throughout the week.
- If you use apnea treatments like a CPAP machine, use it consistently, even on weekends.
“Maintaining coherent schedules and conscious weekend habits could improve your breathing without additional medical intervention,” explains Verma. “However, if you have concerns about sleep apnea, I would recommend discussing it with your doctor.”
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