Healthy Sleep Pattern May Guard You Against Asthma Regardless Of Genetic Susceptibility: Study

Getting a good night's sleep not only keeps the body fresh for the day but also wards you off from many long-term health conditions. Scientists have found that a healthy sleep pattern may guard you against asthma even if you carry genes susceptible to the respiratory condition.

Asthma is a chronic inflammatory condition that obstructs airways to the lungs, causing shortness of breath, wheezing, coughing and tightness or pain in the chest. The respiratory condition affects more than 4.8 million children under the age of 18 and 21 million adults in the U.S.

The most common factor that causes asthma is family history, although other factors like childhood respiratory infections, allergic conditions or exposure to certain chemical irritants can trigger the condition. Genetic susceptibility makes a person three to six times more likely to develop asthma than someone who does not have a parent with asthma.

Many people with asthma often report troubled sleep and suffer from sleep disorders like snoring, insomnia and sleep apnea. Earlier studies have shown that around 37% of those with severe asthma have insomnia and 27% of those with moderate to severe asthma develop sleep apnea.

The latest study evaluated if the quality of a person's sleep had anything to do with the risk of developing asthma.

Researchers analyzed the sleep patterns of around 455,405 participants in the U.K. and found that poor sleep could double a person's risk of being diagnosed with the condition.

The team found participants who were at high genetic risk of asthma and reported poor sleep patterns were 122% more likely to develop the condition than those with low genetic risk and healthy sleep patterns.

The quality of sleep was assessed based on factors like sleep duration, sleep chronotype, insomnia, snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness.

The findings suggest that by identifying and treating sleep disorders early, the chances of getting asthma can be lessened irrespective of genetic predisposition.

"Individuals with poor sleep patterns and higher genetic susceptibility have an additive higher asthma risk. A healthy sleep pattern was beneficial in asthma prevention regardless of the genetic conditions. Early detection and management of sleep disorders could be beneficial to reduce asthma incidence," the researchers wrote.