Snoring linked to learning hurdles in children, study finds

Snoring — and the health issues it creates — is a problem long presumed to be reserved for adults. But new research reveals that snoring children are suffering during waking hours too.

Children who snore on a regular basis show signs of structural changes in their brain that may lead to behavioral troubles, such as lack of focus, hyperactivity and cognitive challenges — much to the detriment of their education. The new study, published in the journal Nature Communications, observed for the first time that children who snore three or more times a week presented thinner gray matter in the brain compared to kids getting normal sleep. Poor sleep has been shown to reduce gray matter, the areas of the brain most densely packed with neurons, which play a critical role in day-to-day activities, particularly in terms of impulse control and reasoning skills.