The effect of singing on snoring and daytime somnolence

Abstract

The objective of the study is to compare the prevalence and severity of snoring and daytime somnolence amongst semiprofessional choir singers and non-singers. It is a cross-sectional comparative study and the setting is at a tertiary otorhinolaryngology referral centre. Adult singers were recruited from two mixed-gender choirs in London. The control group consisted of healthy volunteers who do not sing. The weight and height of all participants were measured by a single investigator. A questionnaire was completed by each subject, and the snoring habit section completed by their spouses or partners. The snoring scale score (SSS) and Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) were utilised to assess the severity of snoring and daytime somnolence, respectively. The mean age of the singers was 46.3 years (20:32, males to females) and the control group 43.3 years (23:32, males to females). There was no difference in body mass index (BMI; p = 0.180) and ESS score (p = 0.770) between singers and non-singers. Regression analysis showed no significant relationship between the number of years of singing and ESS score (p = 0.390) although there was a linear relationship between age and SSS for both singers (R (2) = 0.11; p = 0.02) and non-singers (R (2) = 0.20; p = 0.01). Based on the general linear model, singers have significantly lower SSSs compared to non-singers when adjusted for age (p = 0.0147), BMI (p = 0.0389) and both age and BMI (p = 0.0153). Singing practice may have a role in the treatment of snoring but does not appear to influence daytime somnolence.

Singing, health and well-being: A health psychologist’s review.

“…However, because most of the measures were objective variables such as decibels, number counted to, and observable chest versus abdominal displacement, researcher bias is probably minimized. Pai, Lo, Wolf and Kajieker (2008). Pai, Lo, Wolf, and Kajieker (2008) compared sleep-disordered breathing of snoring in singers and non-singers in a quasi-experimental, quantitative study, in order to determine whether singing could be used eventually as a prescribed alternative to invasive surgical treatment for snoring.…”

Beyond singer vs. non-singer in singing, health and well-being : development and testing of the singing experience scale

“…In the aforementioned study published in 2001, Valentine and Evans compared the effects of solo singing, choral singing, and swimming on physiological and psychological well-being. Consistent with the previously discussed research (e.g., Pai et al, 2008;Sapir et al, 1996), this study drew its singer participants from vocal students and choir members. The distinction between solo singer and choral singer was made because Valentine and Evans wished to determine whether the social aspect of singing might confer differential effects on well-being.…”

“…The singer sample was recruited from two local adult choirs while the non-singer sample were individuals obtained from the general population who "do not sing" (p.265). This non-specific turn o f phrase used by Pai et al (2008) to characterize the non singer group left many questions unanswered. How did the researchers determine that these individuals do not sing?…”

“…Further, the variation in definition of the singer and non-singer division even amongst these few studies makes generalizations across studies problematic. For example, can the results of Phyland et al's (1999) study of professional singers be said to apply to Pai et al's (2008) sample of choral singers (recall, Pai et al defined singers by choir membership)?…”

“…In these cases, rather than assigning singer participants to a category of singers, researchers measure individual variation on singingrelated variables. One such study was the previously discussed study by Pai et al (2008), which examined relationships between singing, snoring, and daytime somnolence. Using general linear modeling, the authors determined that the singer participants' number of years of singing (an individual difference variable) was not predictive of daytime somnolence.…”