Research published in the Journal Pediatrics finds students who snored in early childhood may not do as well in school as their quiet-sleeping peers.

Researchers in Kentucky surveyed the parents of more than 1,500 middle school students. The study found that students who were ranked in the lower 25 percent of their class were nearly three times more likely to have snored when they were toddlers. The snorers were also more likely to have had their tonsils and adenoids removed, which is often done to help treat sleep disorders like apnea caused by clogged airways. The study also found that more than half of the loud snorers in the study reported being exposed to cigarette smoke in the home.

Researches say their findings support the concept that the damage linked to sleep-breathing disorders early in like may not be fully reversible and may hurt school performance as a child grows up.

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