LATE nights, alcohol and smoking on weekends could be triggering a newly identified sleep health concern known as ‘social apnoea’, according to Flinders University researchers.

Social apnoea refers to the weekend spike in obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) severity, driven by lifestyle choices and irregular sleep patterns.

The research, which analysed data from over 70,000 people worldwide, found a consistent and significant increase in OSA severity on weekends.

“Sleep apnoea is already a major public health issue, but our findings suggest its true impact may be underestimated,” said lead author Dr Lucia Pinilla.

“Most clinical diagnostic testing is done on a single night, typically a week night, missing the weekend effect we’re now calling social apnoea.”

The researchers said the findings highlight the need for multi-night sleep assessments to catch important variations in OSA and better assess its severity – learn more HERE.

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