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For those suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), the condition could be significantly worse on the weekends.
After investigating changes in severity, researchers at Flinders University in Australia discovered that symptoms of OSA were markedly more prominent at the end of the week.
The study, published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, analyzed sleep data from more than 70,000 users of an under-mattress sleep monitor that tracked OSA severity across every day of the week.
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Data was collected for sleep duration, sleep timing and the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI), a measure of the severity of sleep apnea.
The participants — predominantly middle-aged, overweight men — had an average of more than five OSA events per night.
OSA severity “significantly increased” on weekends, jumping 18% higher on Saturdays compared to Wednesdays. The overall severity score was 6% higher on weekends compared to weekdays on average.
This increase was found to be greater in men and in participants younger than 60.
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“This real-world study evaluating day-of-week variations in OSA severity in over 70,000 users revealed a global increase in OSA severity on weekends, a phenomenon we have termed ‘social apnea,’” the researchers wrote in the study.
Weekend catch-up sleep and “social jetlag” — which can be defined as a misalignment between someone’s natural circadian rhythm and their social clock — led to a 47% and 38% increase, respectively, in the odds of OSA over the weekend.
“This is in line with previous findings showing that irregular sleep is associated with greater odds of OSA,” the authors commented. “Since OSA is typically more severe during REM sleep, weekend catch-up sleep and social jetlag are likely to exacerbate OSA severity.”
The authors also pinpointed other factors that can impact OSA severity, including an increase in alcohol consumption and smoking.
“Further research is needed to better understand the causes and mechanisms behind the novel social apnea phenomenon identified in this study,” they added.
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Sleep expert Wendy Troxel, PhD — a RAND Corporation senior behavioral specialist and licensed clinical psychologist in Utah, who was not involved in the study — also reacted to the findings in an interview with Fox News Digital.
“This recent study provides novel insights into the day-to-day variability of obstructive sleep apnea severity, highlighting what the authors refer to as a ‘social apnea’ effect, where OSA worsens on weekends,” Troxel confirmed.
Troxel agreed that these fluctuations in OSA severity are likely due to “common weekend behaviors” like increased alcohol consumption, skipping CPAP treatment and “catching up” on sleep.
“All of these can disrupt sleep and circadian rhythms and exacerbate apnea severity,” she said.
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These findings suggest that single-night sleep tests done on weeknights may underestimate the severity of OSA, according to the expert.
“Individuals with OSA should try to maintain consistent sleep-wake schedules throughout the week, limit alcohol intake and use CPAP treatment as prescribed every night of the week,” Troxel advised.
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