Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 26, 2026

Drug-Induced Sleep Endoscopy (DISE) with Target Controlled Infusion (TCI) and Bispectral Analysis in Obstructive Sleep Apnea
Published on: December 6, 2016
Relationship between snoring sound intensity and sleepiness in patients with obstructive sleep apnea
Hiroshi Nakano1, Tomokazu Furukawa, Sankei Nishima
1Department of Pulmonology, Fukuoka National Hospital, Minami-ku, Fukuoka, Japan. nakano_h@palette.plala.or.jp
Study Objectives:
Subjectively assessed snoring and sleepiness are known to be related. However, no evidence supporting the usefulness of snoring measurements exists. We examined whether the objectively measured snoring intensity was correlated with sleepiness.
Methods:
The records of 515 patients who underwent polysomnography for suspected obstructive sleep apnea were retrospectively reviewed. Subjective sleepiness was assessed using the Epworth sleepiness scale (ESS). Snoring intensity was assessed using the highest one percentile ambient sound pressure level (L1) attained while asleep during polysomnography.
Results:
L1 was correlated with ESS in apneic patients with an apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) > or =15 (r = 0.38, p <0.0001), but not in other patients. The correlation in the apneic patients was preserved after adjustments for various confounding factors, including the AHI. A step-wise multiple regression in the apneic patients adopted desaturation time, L1, daily sleep time, subjective snoring, and nasal obstruction symptoms as determinants for the ESS. L1 was correlated with the mean pulse rate during polysomnography but not with sleep fragmentation variables after adjustment for the AHI.
Conclusions:
The measured snoring intensity was independently related to sleepiness in apneics. Snoring intensity may explain part of sleepiness that cannot be fully explained by ordinary polysomnographic variables.
Related Concept Videos
Sleep Apnea
The condition is more prevalent among...
Sound Intensity Level
The human ear can perceive an extensive range of sound intensity, necessitating the use of the logarithmic scale to define a physical quantity—the intensity level. It is a ratio of two intensities and hence a...
Sound Intensity
Insufficient Sleep and Sleep Deprivation
Sleep deprivation is a more severe form of sleep loss...
Sleep-Wake Cycles
NREM Sleep
NREM sleep comprises four progressive stages that seamlessly merge:
Respiratory Volumes and Capacities I
