Snoring may lead to learning problems

Children who are habitual snorers may show behavioural abnormalities and mental deficits. This holds true even when the kids don't have sleep apnoea - temporary cessation of breathing during sleep.Researchers from the University of Louisville, Kentucky, found that habitual snoring during sleep affected an estimated 10 percent to 12 percent of young children. To gauge possible effects, the team investigated and compared 87 such children with 31 similar children without primary snoring. During sleep studies, children with primary snoring spent significantly less of their sleep time in rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep than did control children. Kids who snored had significantly lower scores in overall cognitive ability and on several measures of language ability and visuo-spatial ability, although the results remained within normal limits. They also performed significantly worse than non-snoring children on measures of anxiety and depression, hyperactivity, social problems, and attention, according to the researchers. The differences were, however, generally small. The researchers concluded that snoring more than 3 or 4 times a week and evidence of poor sleep including symptoms such as fatigue and learning problems should prompt parents to seek medical advice.