Dangerous Sleep Problems May Be Caused by Your Diet

Your diet could be increasing your risk of dangerous snoring and sleep problems, a new study has warned.

Sleep apnea is a breathing disorder that occurs when the muscles in the back of the throat relax too much to allow for proper breathing. As many as 1 billion people around the world suffer from sleep apnea, studies have shown. It affects roughly 1 in 5 individuals with obesity.

Sleep apnea is often accompanied by loud snoring, unexplained fatigue and mood swings. However, in the long run it has also been linked to heart disease and metabolic conditions like diabetes, Johns Hopkins Medicine reports.

Considering the link between obesity and sleep apnea, caloric restriction diets have been linked to a reduced risk of sleep apnea. But much less is known about the relationship between sleep apnea and diet quality.

In a recent study, published in the European Respiratory Journal, researchers from Flinders University in South Australia analyzed data from 14,210 individuals to determine whether diet quality had any influence on an individual’s likelihood of developing sleep apnea.

The study focused on three diets: healthy plant-based diets, which were rich in fruits, vegetables, whole grains and legumes; animal-based diets, which were rich in animal fats, dairy, eggs, meat and seafood; and unhealthy plant-based diets, rich in refined grains, sugar-sweetened drinks, sweets, desserts, and salty food.

Those who ate a healthy, plant-based diet were 19 percent less likely to suffer from obstructive sleep apnea compared to those with diets containing very little plant-based food. However, those on an unhealthy plant-based diet were 22 percent more at risk of developing the condition than those who ate healthier plant-based diets, suggesting that avoiding animal products alone was not enough to significantly reduce your risk of developing this condition.

“These results highlight the importance of the quality of our diet in managing the risk of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA),” Flinders University senior researcher Yohannes Melaku, said in a statement.

As this study was purely observational, it does not tell us how our diet affects our risk of sleep apnea. However, co-author Danny Eckert, a professor and director at the Adelaide Institute for Sleep Health, suggested that these associations may be down to the reductions in inflammation and obesity that a healthy plant-based diet can offer.

“Diets rich in anti-inflammatory components and antioxidants, and low in harmful dietary elements, can influence fat mass, inflammation, and even muscle tone, all of which are relevant to OSA risk,” Eckert said in a statement.

The researchers also observed significant differences in the relationship between diet and sleep apnea in men and women. “It’s important to note these sex differences because they underscore the need for personalized dietary interventions for people with OSA,” Melaku said.

The team hopes to now perform a follow-up study to explore the relationship between diets rich in ultra-processed foods and our risk of sleep apnea.