Playing wind instruments protects against sleep apnea
Luise Heine has been an editor at since 2012. The qualified biologist studied in Regensburg and Brisbane (Australia) and gained experience as a journalist in television, in the Ratgeber-Verlag and in a print magazine. In addition to her work at , she also writes for children, for example for the Stuttgarter Kinderzeitung, and has her own breakfast blog, “Kuchen zum Frühstück”.
More posts by Luise Heine All content is checked by medical journalists.MunichIf you want to reduce your risk of snoring and sleep apnea, you should learn a wind instrument. At least that is what an Indian study advises.
Not all snoring is the same; for many people, nightly sawing can also be accompanied by sleep apnea. These nocturnal pauses in breathing are tough: as a result, those affected suffer more from concentration disorders, headaches or sexual aversion.
However, not all of them are equally at risk for sleep apnea. People who play a wind instrument suffer less from it - Indian researchers from the Chettinad Health City have now presented this result at the Sleep and Breathing Congress in Spain. For their study, the scientists compared 64 people who regularly channeled their breath into a musical instrument with 65 people who did not. The musical training had no effect on lung function.
Helpful for risk groups
“Playing a wind instrument could be a simple and inexpensive way to prevent sleep apnea,” explains Silas Danielraj, co-author of the study. Before that, however, the results would have to be confirmed in larger-scale studies. In particular, people who have an increased likelihood of breathing pauses could benefit, according to the scientists. Risk factors for sleep apnea include age, gender (men are more likely than women), certain medications and, last but not least, being very overweight.
Didgeridoo trains muscles
The researchers explain why trumpeters and co. Benefit with the increased training of the muscles in the upper respiratory tract. In many cases, sleep apnea and snoring can be traced back to an increasing slackening of the soft palate muscles. As a result, it can happen that not enough air can flow through the airways - this leads to breathing pauses. When playing a wind instrument, especially one that has to be played with constant high pressure - such as the Australian didgeridoo - it is precisely these muscles that are trained. A previous Swiss study showed that the didgeridoo can also alleviate existing sleep apnea.
Source: Press release of the European Respiratory Society (ERS): Playing a wind instrument could help lower the risk of sleep apnea (April 15, 2015)
