An unintended consequence of this new world was revealed in recent research—the perils of social apnoea. Sleep health expert Danny Eckert likens it to experiencing “social jet lag.” This situation is most common after weekends, when people’s behaviors tend to change dramatically from their normal weekday routines. The study, conducted by researchers at Flinders University and published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, indicates that social apnoea is particularly prevalent among those under 60, with males facing a higher likelihood of experiencing its effects.
Social apnoea manifests when individuals alter their sleep patterns over the weekend, leading to potential disruptions in sleep quality and overall mood. Eckert points to another, even scarier trend. Weekend catch-up sleepers are 50 percent more likely to go on to develop a sleep disorder. Each time you change when you sleep, it throws off your body’s internal circadian rhythm. This rhythm makes it hard over several days to adapt to new movements.
“So if we suddenly change our sleep timing, and we’ve all experienced this at different times with jet lag and these kinds of things, we’re sleeping out of whack from what our body wants us to.” – Danny Eckert
More importantly, the study shows that social apnoea can affect everybody. This extends to people who typically are asymptomatic from OSA on weekdays. In addition, the weekend increase in sleep-disordered breathing could put individuals at risk of developing adverse health outcomes.
Behavioural aspects underlie social apnoea, but the exact motivations are not well understood. Eckert said that lifestyle changes – like increased alcohol consumption and weekend smoking – could make things worse.
“We know that people who smoke tend to smoke more on the weekend. We know that people who drink tend to drink more on the weekend.” – Danny Eckert
Especially for men, who tend to drink more than women, late nights and irregular sleep schedules are difficult to avoid. This is an at-risk demographic that is even more likely to experience OSA, putting them at significant risk of social apnoea.
“We know that men tend to be drinking more alcohol than women and perhaps they’re having later nights and going to sleep after women,” – Danny Eckert
Additionally, Eckert emphasizes that individuals experiencing symptoms such as daytime fatigue, trouble staying asleep, or morning headaches should consult their general practitioner. Rather, it can be a warning sign that there’s more going on underneath the surface with their sleep if they’re snoring loudly.
“If people are feeling tired during the day, having some trouble staying asleep, or maybe they are waking up with morning headaches, maybe they’re being told that they snore loudly; these are all warning signs that you may have sleep apnoea, and it’s worth having a conversation with your GP.” – Danny Eckert
