DARIEN, IL – Frequent snorers and individuals with a high risk of obstructive sleep apnea are less active than those who don’t snore, according to a new study to be presented at SLEEP 2022.
Researchers examined the relationship between snoring frequency and minutes of sedentary activity in three years of data collected from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants reported snoring frequency and sedentary activity, and researchers developed a score to identify those at risk of sleep apnea.
After adjusting for sex, age, race, education level, and marital status, frequent snorers had about 36 more sedentary minutes per day, compared to those who reported never snoring. Also, those who were at high risk of having sleep apnea had about 44 more minutes per day of sedentary time.
“Sleep-related breathing issues like snoring and sleep apnea are very common in the population,” said senior author Dr. Michael Grandner, director of the Sleep and Health Research Program at the University of Arizona. “But these issues don’t just affect the nighttime. They can lead to more tiredness and less energy, which can impact everything from mood to stress to — as we saw — activity level. This may be why even just snoring can impact health and well-being.”
The research abstract, “Population-Level Snoring and Probable Sleep-Disordered Breathing Associated with Greater Sedentary Activity,” was published recently in an online supplement of the journal Sleep and was presented during SLEEP 2022. SLEEP is the annual meeting of the Associated Professional Sleep Societies, a joint venture of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine and the Sleep Research Society.
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For a copy of the abstract or to arrange an interview with the study author or an AASM spokesperson, email media@aasm.org.
About the American Academy of Sleep Medicine
Established in 1975, the American Academy of Sleep Medicine is advancing sleep care and enhancing sleep health to improve lives. The AASM has a combined membership of 11,000 accredited member sleep centers and individual members, including physicians, scientists and other health care professionals (aasm.org).
About the Sleep Research Society
The Sleep Research Society is a professional membership society that advances sleep and circadian science. The SRS provides forums for the exchange of information, establishes and maintains standards of reporting and classifies data in the field of sleep research, and collaborates with other organizations to foster scientific investigation on sleep and its disorders. The SRS also publishes the peer-reviewed, scientific journals Sleep and Sleep Advances (sleepresearchsociety.org).