Learn How To Stop Snoring Without Surgery Blog

The British Medical Journal published a study that found that regular didgeridoo playing reduces snoring and daytime sleepiness. The didgeriddo, a long, tubular musical instrument, emits a sound somewhere between a hoot and a twang. It’s that funny background sound you hear on the Outback Steak House commercials.

Patients participated in didgeridoo lessons and daily practiced at home with standardized instruments for four months. The researchers concluded that regular training of the upper airways by didgeridoo playing reduced daytime sleepiness and snoring in people with moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and also improved the sleep quality of partners.

The didgeridoo is a wind instrument of the indigenous Australians of northern Australia and can be traced back 1500 years to Aboriginal tribes. It sometimes is described as a natural wooden trumpet or “drone pipe.” It produces a variety of interesting sounds and tones such as dogs barking or kangaroos hopping.

Snoring and obstructive sleep apnea syndrome are common sleep disorders caused by the collapse of the upper airways. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy is effective, but is not suitable for some patients. Researchers link the therapeutic effect to two factors: the strengthening of muscles in the back of the throat and the deep, circular breathing required to play the didgeridoo. Results of the study can be found at http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov.