Key takeaways:Researchers suspect alcohol use, lighter sleep, and other weekend-related lifestyle factors contribute to the newly identified “social apnea” phenomenon, that is, when OSA severity spikes on the weekend. The study’s findings support the need for multi-night sleep studies, as single-night tests—often done on weekdays—may underestimate OSA severity. Bastien Lechat, PhD, who was not involved in the study, says similar mechanisms may drive seasonal variability in OSA severity. “This seasonal spike is partly explained by higher temperatures, which disrupt sleep and lead to lighter sleep stages, which is associated with worse OSA. “Relying on a single-night sleep study may miss important variations, leading to underdiagnosis or misclassification of OSA severity,” Eckert says.