Blowing a conch shell could help manage moderate sleep apnoea, study finds

Indian trial finds that regular conch shell blowing may improve sleep quality, reduce breathing interruptions, and ease daytime sleepiness in people with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea

The traditional Indian practice of blowing a conch shell—or shankh—may offer a surprising, low-cost aid for managing moderate obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA), a new study suggests.

 

OSA occurs when the upper airway repeatedly collapses during sleep, causing pauses in breathing, loud snoring, and poor sleep quality. The gold standard treatment, continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP), is highly effective but often suffers from poor patient adherence.

 

Researchers from the Eternal Heart Care Centre and Research Institute in Jaipur explored whether blowing a shankh could be an alternative for people with moderate OSA who struggle with standard treatments.

 

Inside the study approach

 

The randomised controlled trial, published in the European Respiratory Journal Open Research, involved 30 adults diagnosed with moderate OSA. Participants were split into two groups:

 

Intervention group: Trained to blow a left-turned shankh for at least 15 minutes a day, five days a week, for six months.

Control group: Performed deep breathing exercises for the same duration and frequency.

 

Assessments included

• Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) for daytime sleepiness
• Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) for sleep quality
• Apnoea-hypopnoea index (AHI) for monitoring bodily functions during sleep

 

Impressive results after six months

 

The conch-blowing group showed notable improvements compared to the control group:

 

• Daytime sleepiness was reduced by 34 per cent
• 30 per cent showed marked improvement in overall sleep hygiene.
• Approximately 20 per cent reduction in the AHI signifying that episodes where breathing stops completely (apnoea) or partially (hypopnoea) dropped by about one-fifth
• Sleep quality improved significantly

 

They also had better oxygen saturation and reduced body mass index (BMI). 

Measuring the impact of shankh blowing on sleep apnoea. (Photo: AI generated)

 

How blowing a conch shell helps

 

Blowing a shankh involves deep inhalation followed by forceful exhalation through the shell’s narrow opening, generating vibrations. This acts as a form of respiratory muscle training, similar to playing wind instruments, which has also been shown to help in OSA.

 

The study says that the benefits of shankh blowing comes likely from strengthening the upper airway muscles, making them less likely to collapse during sleep. The intervention group also showed a noticeable reduction in neck size, which may induce upper airway remodelling that helps improve breathing.

 

A public health challenge

 

A 2023 systematic review published in Sleep Medicine Reviews estimated the overall prevalence of obstructive sleep apnoea (OSA) in India at 11 per cent, affecting 13 per cent of men and 5 per cent of women. Based on these figures, around 104 million working-age Indians are living with OSA, including 47 million with moderate-to-severe forms. This represents a major public health challenge for the country and adds significantly to the global burden of the disease.

 

According to the researchers, the conch shell-blowing trial was first of its kind and conducted on a relatively small sample size. They stressed that larger, multi-centre studies are needed to confirm these findings and fully establish its role as a tool for OSA. 

 

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