Loud Snoring Makes You Sleepy
Reported December 22, 2008
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Daytime sleepiness may be more affected by loud snoring than severity of sleep conditions like obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).
Objectively measured snoring intensity is correlated with subjective sleepiness independent of the apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) which measures sleep apneas effects in patients with moderate to sever OSA.
Researchers at the Fukuoka National Hospital in Fukuoka, Japan found this independent snoring and sleepiness association using the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS). The results of their study, which included 507 patients who were retrospectively reviewed, show subjective sleepiness is better explained by snoring intensity than by AHI.
Findings also suggest that snoring intensity is significantly correlated with age, body mass index and AHI. “The results were not so surprising, because previous studies in general population have shown an independent relationship between the degree of snoring and sleepiness,” lead study author Hiroshi Nakano, M.D., Ph.D., was quoted as saying.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2008;4:551-556