Sleep apnea keeping you breathless and sleepless? Try blowing a conch shell, says study
'I gathered anecdotal evidence through all my patient outcomes and then decided to do a clinical trial on effects of conch shell-blowing on sleep apnea. Already, some studies on usage of wind-blown instruments like saxophone had shown positive results in reducing symptoms like snoring and sleep-disordered breathing. This led to our hypothesis that shankh-blowing might offer similar advantages. Our trial showed promising results; patients felt more alert during the day and had fewer breathing interruptions at night after regular blowing of the shankh,' says Dr Gupta, study author and chair, Preventive Cardiology & Medicine, Eternal Heart Care Center & Research Centre, Jaipur.
The study by Dr Gupta and his colleagues has just been published in the European Respiratory Journal Open Research. Though small, it is significant because it eliminates the need for bulky breathing devices like the CPAP (Continuous Positive Airway Pressure) machine, which is the gold standard treatment. Conch shell-blowing can even be used as complementary therapy. 'We tested this technique on 30 patients. Now we need to confirm the results through larger, longer-term, multi-centre studies in India and other countries to assess sustained benefits,' adds Dr Gupta. Excerpts:
What did the study find?
We divided 30 patients into two groups; 14 were trained to blow a conch shell twice daily for a total of 10-15 minutes (with 30 seconds of blowing into the shell and gaps to draw in fresh air) while 16 practised deep breathing exercises. After six months, those in the conch shell group showed a 34 per cent improvement in sleep, better sleep quality, lower daytime sleepiness and better oxygen saturation. The hypoxia index, which is a measure of the severity and duration of oxygen deficiency in the body, decreased by 4.4 events.
In terms of overall sleep hygiene, 30 per cent in the conch shell-blowing group showed marked improvement compared to the five per cent improvement in the control group.
Why conch shell-blowing is effective
As we fall asleep, all our muscles relax naturally, including those in the throat. But in obstructive sleep apnea, the same muscles relax too much, causing the soft tissues in the back of the throat, such as the tongue, palate and tonsils to collapse and narrow or completely close the airway. This disrupts breathing in patients and forces them to wake up intermittently in the night, gasping for fresh air.
Conch shell-blowing involves breathing in deeply and exhaling into a spiral-shaped shell. This action creates strong vibrations and airflow resistance, which strengthens both the tongue and throat muscles and prevents them from collapsing easily. This is a far easier drill to follow twice a day than remaining hooked to a CPAP machine, which delivers a continuous stream of pressurised air through a mask worn over the nose or mouth, keeping the airways open during sleep and preventing pauses in breathing. The patient has to maintain the same sleeping posture.
How have the results held in patients who were not part of the study?
I had first discussed the concept in an article published in the RUHS Journal of Health Sciences in 2018. Privately, I recommended it to patients of sleep apnea who somehow could not take to the CPAP machine. So going by anecdotal evidence, the conch shell-blowing patients have been able to stay up to four years off the CPAP machine.
Can conch shell-blowing be a reliable therapy?
If the results hold in larger trials, it can. It will be a cheap and at-home option for the billion people who suffer from sleep apnea.
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