Playing wind instrument may lower risk of sleep apnoea

Playing a wind instrument could help lower the risk of sleep apnoea, Indian researchers have found.
Researchers in India conducted lung function testing in 64 people who played a wind instrument and compared results to a control group of 65 people who did not play any wind instruments.
All participants also completed the Berlin questionnaire, an established method used to assess the risk of sleep apnoea.
Sleep apnoea is a sleep disorder characterised by pauses in breathing or instances of shallow or infrequent breathing during sleep.
When analysing the results of the questionnaires, the researchers found that the group who played the wind instruments had a lower risk of developing sleep apnoea, according to the study, presented at the Sleep and Breathing Conference 2015 in Barcelona, Spain.

However, no difference was seen between the two groups in the lung function tests.

The relative risk of developing sleep apnoea based on the questionnaire was 0.18 in the wind instrument players, with a relative risk of less than one indicating a lower risk compared to controls.
The researchers believe this is due to the increased muscle tone in the upper airways, which wind instrument players are likely to have.
"The findings of our small study present an interesting theory on preventative measures or treatment in sleep apnoea," said Silas Daniel Raj, one of the authors of the study.
"If the findings are confirmed in larger groups, wind instrument playing could become a cheap and non-invasive method of preventing sleep apnoea in those at risk of developing the condition," Raj said.