Image source, Getty Images
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- Author, Jo-Anne Johnson
- Author's title, The Conversation*
Could blow the shell of a marine snail could help treat sleep apnea?
As a doctor who works in sleep medicine, this unexpected news story definitely caught my attention.
My first reaction was skepticism; Sleep specialists typically do not recipe the natural objects found in clown as medical therapy. But, perhaps, I hurried to discard the idea.
For those who do not know it, the shell of a marine snail is the spiral structure where that great mollusk lives that, when it is scarce, can blow like a trumpet.
It is not a new practice, cultures all over the world have used Caracol shells for thousands of years for rituals, ceremonies and communication. The novelty is the suggestion that could help with a serious medical condition that affects millions.
We all know someone who snoring, but not all snoring are harmless. If your partner detects that you sometimes stop breathing during the night, that is a matter of concern.
You could suffer from obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which throat muscles relax excessively during sleep, making the respiratory path narrow or close completely. These breathing interruptions, called apnea, dozens or even hundreds of times during the night can occur.
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The consequences go much beyond hindering your partner's dream. Each breathing pause shakes the brain of deep sleep states, leaving the exhausted person the next day. This is not just an inconvenience, sleepy drivers are the cause of thousands of accidents a year.
The constant oxygen decreases also stress the heart, increasing the risk of high blood pressure and coronary heart disease if they are not treated.
Common treatments concentrate on maintaining the respiratory path open during sleep. The reference method is continuous positive pressure on the respiratory path (CPAP), where a mask sends a constant air flow that acts as an internal extension.
Image source, Getty Images
We also use oral devices that slightly move the jaw forward, the surgical removal of aggravated tonsils or adenoids, and even new techniques that involve the sending of small electrical impulses to stimulate the muscles of the respiratory pathway.
Changes in lifestyle are also important. The weight loss reduces the fatty tissue around the neck that can compress the airways, while reducing alcohol consumption and quitting smoking help to give firmness more firmness the muscles of the respiratory pathway; Both substances loosen the throat tissues and worsen the symptoms.
The importance of the muscles in sleep
So, what does the snail shell have to do? When you blow through a narrow cavity, you are essentially training the muscles of the upper part of your respiratory path to stay open and firm.
This concept, called muscle training of the respiratory path, has a legitimate scientific support. Studies show that the exercises that involve the tongue, palate veil and facial muscles can improve mild to moderate symptoms from sleep apnea.
Research has even examined whether to touch the Diyeridú – another wind instrument (of the aboriginal peoples of Australia) that requires sustained control of the respiratory path – can be beneficial for sleep apnea patients.
The results are promising, although limited according to the patient's compliance. The challenge with any exercise -based treatment is to maintain a long -term daily practice.
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This is where the idea of the Caracol shell becomes more intriguing. For carefully selected patients with minor symptoms, it could provide a more interesting and culturally enriching alternative than conventional respiratory exercises.
It is definitely more accessible than learning to play from Diyeridú and probably easier to explain to neighbors to bother.
However, let's be clear: Caracol shell therapy will not revolutionize the treatment of sleep apnea. Anyone who suspects sleep apnea needs to have an appropriate medical evaluation and evidence -based treatment.
Image source, Getty Images
But as part of a broad strategy, by the hand of weight control, changes in lifestyle and conventional methods, the prescription of exercises with snail shells could one day win a position in our therapeutic toolbox.
So that sleep medicine, typically obsessed with high -tech solutions, could benefit from something as old and simple as blowing a marine shell. Of course, being sleep specialists, we would inevitably need to give it the appropriate technical name: “Respiratory muscular rehabilitation”, does not seem like it?
*Jo-Anne Johnson is director of Undergraduate of Medicine at the Anglia Ruskin University, London. His original article was published in The Conversation, whose English version you can Read here.
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