Is Sleep Apnea Caused by Your Childhood?

Sleep apnea is most often blamed on lifestyle factors such as lack of exercise or being overweight or obese.

But that is not necessarily the case according to a new study published in Respirology.

On the contrary, the root cause may be something that happened in your childhood which you had no control over.

Sleep apnea is a common sleep problem where muscles in the throat relax too much, blocking airflow.

Apart from making you feel tired, it can lead to severe health issues, like heart disease, diabetes, and even depression.

Researchers from the University of Melbourne conducted a study to understand the origin of sleep apnea. Their study is unique because it went back in time, tracing their participants’ lives from childhood. This type of study is called a “longitudinal study”, where scientists track people’s health over years to find patterns.

The researchers used data from the Tasmanian Longitudinal Health Study, which has been following the health of 3,550 people since 1968. When the participants were just seven years old, their parents filled out health surveys. Fast forward to when they were aged between 51 and 54, the researchers checked which of them suffered from sleep apnea.

The study unearthed some fascinating links between childhood experiences and sleep apnea in adulthood.

1. If a mother had asthma or smoked, her child was 50% and 20%, respectively, more likely to develop sleep apnea as an adult.

2. Exposure to parental smoking, including by fathers, increased the risk by 30%.

3. Kids who frequently had asthma, bronchitis, or pneumonia had an increased risk of 30%, 20%, and 30%, respectively, of developing sleep apnea in middle age.

These findings were consistent even when they used different methods to diagnose sleep apnea.

Now, there is nothing you can do to prevent health issues acquired in childhood. But you can heal your sleep apnea today using a simple three-minute throat exercise regime found here…