Certain behaviors many of us have on weekends can lead to a condition called social apnea.
SAN ANTONIO — Lots of us look to the weekends to catch up on sleep. But many who think they’re actually getting the Zzz’s the need on the weekend, may actually be falling further behind.
It is called social apnea or social jetlag. What is it? The combined effects of late nights and weekend habits that contribute already existing obstructive sleep apnea. And in some cases it could be deadly. Kirk Huntsman, the cofounder and CEO of Vivos Therapeutics told us, “The biggest things are what’s going on to our internal systems, our internal bodily systems are just, they are just, they’re destroyed over time by sleep apnea.”
Some factors that could trigger social apnea include irregular sleep schedules, alcohol, smoking, and other weekend-related lifestyle factors. Alcohol is a big one. Huntsman added, “It has a tendency to affect some of the biochemistry that takes place and everything just sort of relaxes, gets a little bit more flaccid, is more prone to collapse.”
A 2025 study in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine found those with mild obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, where close to 20% more likely to experience at least moderate OSA on Saturdays compared to midweek. Two out of ten men saw an increased risk on the weekends, while only one out of 10 women did. And younger adults are more susceptible, with those under 60 having a 24% higher risk on weekends. Those 60 and older, only a 7% higher risk.
Sleep studies and CPAPs are been used as a starting point to battle OSA, but now home sleep test technology is changing the game, by allowing you to use your smartphone to help diagnose a very undiagnosed condition,” told us, Huntsman, “Home sleep test technology has been distilled down to where it’s just you put a ring on your finger, it syncs up with your cell phone, and you have a medical grade clinical quality sleep test the next morning.”