Didgeridoo playing and sleep apnea

First thing I had to look up was what the hell a didgeridoo was.

Regular didgeridoo playing is an effective treatment alternative well accepted by patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome.

Comments

Michael Rack, MD
Interesting. Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about the matter:
“A 2005 study, published in the British Medical Journal, found that learning and practicing the didgeridoo helped reduce snoring and sleep apnea, as well as daytime sleepiness [4]. This appears to work by strengthening muscles in the upper airway, thus reducing their tendency to collapse during sleep.”
I wonder if playing any Western wind instruments would have a similar effect.
Michael Rack, MD
http://sleepdoctor.blogspot.com/
http://sleepdoctor.blogspot.com/
Jane
Didgeridoo requires circular breathing, which takes practice to learn. It’s a different technique from the breathing used to play Western wind instruments.
However, given a choice between listening to my spouse snore or play didgeridoo, I’ll take the snoring!

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