Sleep Apnea in Singers – A research
Recently, some researches have been done regarding sleep apnea in singers. It was found that singers who had sleep apnea were just as exhausted during the daytime as non-singers who had sleep apnea. But, the non-singers were more likely to snore than the singers.
This research was performed by Dennis Wolf, Stephen Lo, Drs. Irumee Pai and Azgher Kajieker, of the Department of Otorhinolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, St. George’s Hospital in London. The participant was singers among semi-professionals who sang in choirs and people who did not sing at all.
There were two kinds of scales performed:
A. The Snoring Scale Score
In this scale, the subjects’ height and weight was recorded and in each test subject’s wife, husband or partner rated the sleep apnea patient’s snoring on a severity scale.
Here are the snoring score that partners gave the participants:
1. 0 – never
2. 1 – one night per week
3. 2 – two or three nights per week
4. 3 – four or more nights per week
The score was given based on below situations:
- whether snoring affects the partners’ relationship
- whether snoring causes the non-snoring partner to be tired or irritable
- whether the partners have to sleep in separate rooms because the snoring is so disruptive
- whether the snoring is loud
- Whether, when the partners sleep away from home, the snoring affects people nearby, in hotels, campgrounds, and the like.
If the participants’ score is 5 or more in this research, it was considered severe.
B. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale
The purpose of this scale was to measure whether the singers dozes off or fell asleep during the day. Participants were asked to measure whether under a variety of situations, they had:
- No chance of dozing
- A little chance of dozing
- A fair chance of dozing
- A high chance of dozing
If they got a score of 7 to 8, it is average. Participants who got a score of 9 or higher are suggested to consult a sleep specialist immediately.
Finally, the conclusion of this research is that singing perhaps useful in treating sleep apnea subjects who snore.
Tags : sleep apnea in singers
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