The oboe and other double reed woodwinds (bassoon, contrabassoon, and English horn) are difficult to play properly. You need to train yourself to inhale and exhale in a certain manner to be able to blow correctly into the mouthpiece. Unlike brass instruments (trumpets, for example) or single reed instruments (clarinets), double reed instruments have a very small mouth piece and there is a lot of resistance when the player blows into the instrument.
It’s this resistance that researchers have found may reduce the risk for obstructive sleep apnea in those players. On the other hand, another theory is that these instruments …read more

Sleep apnea is more than an inconvenience that makes us feel tired the next day – it can make us dangerously sleepy, affecting judgment and causing accidents because of our fatigue.
Before trying treatments that could be expensive (like a machine called a CPAP that helps you breathe at night), researchers have found that a simple tongue exercise may help reduce the incidence of mild to moderate obstructive sleep apnea.
According to the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute:
“Breathing pauses can last from a few seconds to minutes. They often occur 5 to 30 times or more an hour. …read more

How many women suffer from obstructive sleep apnea?
What’s the difference between regular snoring and obstructive sleep apnea? Can obstructive sleep apnea affect your driving abilities? Keep reading for a discussion on all of the above.
Following is a guest post written by Dr. Charles W. Atwood, Jr., MD, a board-certified pulmonologist and sleep medicine physician at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center and the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System. Read more about him at the end of this post.
Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) Facts:
• OSA is a sleep disorder in which a person’s airway collapses during sleep, preventing air from getting to the …read more