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Snoring in babies is linked to future mental health problems
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
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American pediatricians advise parents to listen carefully to how their children sleep. According to a study reported in the journal Pediatrics, loud and prolonged snoring in babies is associated with future problems in the child’s emotional health and behavior.
As explained by Dr. Dan Beebe, director of neuropsychology programs at Cincinnati Children's Medical Hospital, we are talking about such disorders in children as hyperactivity, depression and inattention. The fact that there is a certain connection between them and snoring was discovered by pediatricians during observations of 249 young patients, as well as a survey of their mothers. The women told specialists about all the peculiarities of their children's behavior.
After comparing all the data obtained, the scientists found that persistent snoring in children aged two and three years can be a signal of future behavioral problems. If such children snore loudly at least twice a week, they are at much greater risk than children who did not suffer from snoring or snored occasionally only at the age of two or three, but not for two years in a row.
According to American pediatricians, loud, persistent snoring is found today in an average of every tenth child. Researchers associate it with socioeconomic factors (children in poor families suffer from snoring more often), as well as the absence or short period of breastfeeding. "Cartoons make snoring seem cute or funny," says Dr. Beebe. "But loud snoring that lasts for months is not normal, and anything that puts a child at risk for behavioral problems is no longer cute or funny. I strongly advise parents to tell their pediatrician about loud snoring, especially if it happens frequently and for a long time."
Important to know:
Snoring in children is associated with the fact that during sleep, a person involuntarily relaxes the soft palate and uvula, causing vibrations of the soft tissues of the laryngopharynx. Snoring is often accompanied by apnea, and people who have problems with snoring have a slightly increased risk of cardiovascular diseases. Snoring also causes narrowing of the uvula and pharynx, resulting in a lack of oxygen. Snorers have a significant deficiency of gray matter, especially in those areas of the brain that are responsible for abstract thinking and solving various problems.