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Has anyone tried the didgeridoo treatment?

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  • #1

    Has anyone tried the didgeridoo treatment?

    When googling sleep apnea - this kept coming up. Apparently if you learn the play the didgeridoo, your muscles in your throat tone up so you don't have sleep apnea anymore!

    Anyone tried it? Or could recommend a didgeridoo teacher somewhere near Cambridge?

    Thank you!
    Tags: None
  • #2
    [quote=Penguin of Death;18861]When googling sleep apnea - this kept coming up. Apparently if you learn the play the didgeridoo, your muscles in your throat tone up so you don't have sleep apnea anymore!

    Anyone tried it? Or could recommend a didgeridoo teacher somewhere near Cambridge?

    Thank you![/quot

    Sorry but I'm not sure where ROLF lives

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    • #3
      Didges..

      Youtube is the place to go for instruction on how to make and play a didge.
      I don't know if it works though.


      Originally posted by Penguin of Death View Post
      When googling sleep apnea - this kept coming up. Apparently if you learn the play the didgeridoo, your muscles in your throat tone up so you don't have sleep apnea anymore!

      Anyone tried it? Or could recommend a didgeridoo teacher somewhere near Cambridge?

      Thank you!

      Comment

      • #4
        Instead of a didgeridoo why not try blowing your own trumpet? LOL
        Good luck with the search

        Lorraie
        APAP: F & P Iconaax auto
        Masks: Resmed Swift FX, Sleep Weaver, Mirage Liberty and most other makes and models.

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        • #5
          Originally posted by ElleCee View Post
          Instead of a didgeridoo why not try blowing your own trumpet? LOL
          Good luck with the search
          LOL. It doesn't work! I used to play cornet and bass trombone and it helped the asthma but not the apnoeas!

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          • #6
            I was told to learn a wind instrument, but being a cheapskate I bought a tin whistle. Did not make any difference (no surprise as it needs little puff), so have taken up the guitar instead!

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            • #7
              Wow, gotta take some amount of puff to shift a guitar string!!

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              • #8
                Guitar is probably easier to play than a didgeridoo when you have the cpap mask on though

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                • #9
                  Originally posted by Fredxx View Post
                  Guitar is probably easier to play than a didgeridoo when you have the cpap mask on though
                  Mental pic of the didgeridoo being connected between cpap and humidifier....7 hours of solid didging, or erdoing. Mental pic of my wife telling me to go back to snoring as its quieter......

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                  • #10
                    Actually that sounds like a good idea to me.
                    The sound of my husband snoring (NOT me this time!) is revolting.
                    I can hear the mucous rattling around and it makes me want to be sick
                    I actually wish he had OSA so a cpap would cure it.
                    My nights are no fun and I usually end up sitting downstairs playing cards on the computer just to get away from him.

                    Oh I have a question... why don't ear plugs stop you hearing? I am unlikey to get water in my ears when asleep so whats the point of them?
                    APAP: F & P Iconaax auto
                    Masks: Resmed Swift FX, Sleep Weaver, Mirage Liberty and most other makes and models.

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                    • #11
                      Get him to snore at a higher pitch and the plugs will probably work. Alternatively, sleep at the bottom of a heated pool, didge yourself to sleep and breathe through it. The plugs will keep your ears dry.

                      TF
                      Respironics REMstar 'M' Series APAP.
                      Resmed Mirage 'Quattro FX' Full Face Mask with a 'Quattro' headgear.

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                      • #12
                        In my pre Cpap born again happy energy filled persona (sound of someone killing themselves laughing behind me.......they didn't recognise my current description as truth....hmph) my wife used a Q Plug in the lugs. For some reason it cut out the frequency of my snoring more than the industrial or shooting ones. Maybe I just snore on an unusual note.

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                        • #13
                          I find a high powered drill usually does the trick although the play hell with the neighbours

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                          • #14
                            The medical journal with the research you are looking for is

                            Didgeridoo playing as alternative treatment for obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome: randomised controlled trial
                            http://www.bmj.com/content/332/7536/266.full
                            Objective To assess the effects of didgeridoo playing on daytime sleepiness and other outcomes related to sleep by reducing collapsibility of the upper airways in patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome and snoring. Design Randomised controlled trial. Setting Private practice of a didgeridoo instructor and a single centre for sleep medicine. Participants 25 patients aged > 18 years with an apnoea-hypopnoea index between 15 and 30 and who complained about snoring. Interventions Didgeridoo lessons and daily practice at home with standardised instruments for four months. Participants in the control group remained on the waiting list for lessons. Main outcome measure Daytime sleepiness (Epworth scale from 0 (no daytime sleepiness) to 24), sleep quality (Pittsburgh quality of sleep index from 0 (excellent sleep quality) to 21), partner rating of sleep disturbance (visual analogue scale from 0 (not disturbed) to 10), apnoea-hypopnoea index, and health related quality of life (SF-36). Results Participants in the didgeridoo group practised an average of 5.9 days a week (SD 0.86) for 25.3 minutes (SD 3.4). Compared with the control group in the didgeridoo group daytime sleepiness (difference &#8722;3.0, 95% confidence interval &#8722;5.7 to &#8722;0.3, P = 0.03) and apnoea-hypopnoea index (difference &#8722;6.2, &#8722;12.3 to &#8722;0.1, P = 0.05) improved significantly and partners reported less sleep disturbance (difference &#8722;2.8, &#8722;4.7 to &#8722;0.9, P < 0.01). There was no effect on the quality of sleep (difference &#8722;0.7, &#8722;2.1 to 0.6, P = 0.27). The combined analysis of sleep related outcomes showed a moderate to large effect of didgeridoo playing (difference between summary z scores &#8722;0.78 SD units, &#8722;1.27 to &#8722;0.28, P < 0.01). Changes in health related quality of life did not differ between groups. Conclusion Regular didgeridoo playing is an effective treatment alternative well accepted by patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. Trial registration ISRCTN: 31571714.


                            I don't know if there have been any follow up studies. Comments about Rolf Harris may be amusing but not really useful. Comments from brass players may be more pertinent. It would be an interesting study to see how many tuba players suffered from OSA compared to a sample of the population who did not play the tuba - but there would be a lot more variables to iron out...
                            DeVilbiss Sleep Cube DV54 Auto
                            Sleepweaver

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                            • #15
                              Playing the Didgeridoo has been shown to help with OSA. The act of continuous breathing required to play the instrument and the stiffening of the muscles around the airway helps to keep the airway open.

                              From someone who has had a lesson on trying to learn the instrument I can tell you it ain't easy, not in the slightest and if you are in any way impatient such as myself, it might be better sticking with the CPAP and learning to play the bongos.

                              Plus I'm not sure how much more popular you will become switching from snoring to loud didgeridoo playing, but its worth a go

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