How on Earth Can a Didgeridoo Help Sleep Apnea?

Sleep apnea is a common sleep disorder that is often left undiagnosed. Males who are overweight, have thick necks, and snore, are the most at risk for sleep apnea. However, the disorder is known to affect women, men of all races, and children.

Treatment for sleep apnea can be quite uncomfortable. The prescribed recommended treatment for the disorder is using a CPAP machine, which continuously pumps air into a mask that is attached to a machine. Another uncomfortable option for patients is surgery, but this is only used if the case of sleep apnea is severe.

With these invasive and often problematic methods of treatment for sleep apnea, patients often look into alternative options to relieve their symptoms. And, one of these options, just so happens to be a tradition aboriginal instrument known as the didgeridoo.

A didgeridoo for sleep apnea? How can that really help you?

A didgeridoo is an Australian Aboriginal musical instrument that looks like a long hollow tube. Traditionally, a didgeridoois made from bamboo, but it could come from a termite hollowed out tree. As entertaining as it sounds, playing the didgeridoo can actually be beneficial to your health.

A didgeridoo can help:

• Improve lung capacity and efficiency. Revitalize your body by promoting circular breathing.
• Use circular breathing to improve breathing in asthmatic conditions.
• Clear out nasal cavities and eliminate toxin-carrying mucus with sharp breaths.
• Exercise your diaphragm muscles. The diaphragm is designed to enhance the assimilation of food and elimination of waste.
• Use the diaphragm muscle to tone up the stomach externally.
• Reduce stress levels and elevate moods. Playing the didgeridoo can be a pretty fun activity!

A didgeridoo can also benefit those with sleep apnea. In a study published in the British Medical Journal tested the didgeridoo to see if it could improve obstructive sleep apnea. Results were surprisingly positive. The study concluded that regular didgeridoo playing is an effective alternative treatment for sleep apnea. Doctors have even accepted the use of the didgeridoo for use by patients with moderate sleep apnea syndrome.

According to the USA National Institutes, one of the biggest challenges in sleep apnea treatment is "poor compliance. Thus new treatments not only need to be effect but also be ones that people are motivated to use. Didgeridoo playing seems to meet these requirements. Participants were highly motivated during the trial and practiced, on average, almost six days a week, which was even more than the protocol asked for. Regular playing of a didgeridoo reduces sleep apnea and snoring in people with moderate obstructive sleep apnea syndrome and also improves the sleep quality of partners. Severity of disease, expressed by the apnea-hypopnoea index, is also substantially reduced after four months of didgeridoo playing."

Read on to learn more about why the didgeridoo can help reduce sleep apnea symptoms.