We already know that asthma medication may cause insomnia - but new research suggests that asthma itself may be an insomnia cause.
This latest study looked at over 25,000 Swedish adults. Each individual was asked about insomnia, asthma, rhinitis, their physical activity, tobacco use, weight and height.
Researchers discovered that nearly half of all asthmatics suffered from insomnia. In contrast, just over a third of non-asthmatics reported difficulty sleeping.
It was also found that the more severe the asthma, the more likely the risk for insomnia - those who reported three symptoms of insomnia were 2.65 times more likely to suffer from insomnia compared to asthma sufferers who showed no symptoms.
Although these rates are high, insomnia was even more prevalent when it came to two particular lifestyle factors - obesity increased insomnia risk by 54% whilst smoking increased insomnia risk by a whopping 71%.
In conclusion, then:
When it comes to lifestyle factors, lose weight and quit smoking if you want to improve your sleep.
For asthma sufferers and those suffering from nasal congestion, there needs to be improvements in the control and treatment of these conditions if we want to see lower insomnia prevalence rates.
Source: Allergy
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Last updated: May 8, 2013
