The risk of sleep-related breathing disorders (SRBD) rises with every drink men consume on an average daily basis, according to researchers.

The American Academy of Sleep Medicine reported April 16 that study author Paul E. Peppard, Ph.D., and associates at the University of Wisconsin at Madison found that risk of sleep disorders rose 25 percent for every drink men consumed on a daily basis when compared to nondrinkers. Women exhibited no increased risk if they drank minimal or moderate amounts of alcohol.

"Experimental evidence is fairly consistent in demonstrating acute effects of alcohol exposure on initiating or exacerbating an SRBD, perhaps by reducing upper airway patency via reduced dilatory muscle tone, or by blunted ventilatory response to hypoxia," said Peppard. "Based on the previous experimental evidence, men and women with an SRBD, or those particularly susceptible to an SRBD, should be advised to avoid alcohol near bedtime."

The study appears in the April 15, 2007 issue of the Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine.