Alise Ojay says it was a friend who was dumped because of his snoring that inspired her to create her ‘Singing for Snorers ‘ program.
Snoring is a common problem with potentially big consequences, but few solutions.
Alise Ojay says it was a friend who was dumped because of his snoring that inspired her to create her ‘Singing for Snorers ‘ program.
In it, the British choir director guides people through a series of vocal exercises aimed at strengthening throat muscles so air can pass more freely.
Early observations led her to a likely source of trouble – the soft palate. If it’s weak, she postulated, then it can’t effectively resist the force of the airflow coming up against it.
If that is indeed the case, then making it stronger should solve the problem.
Wanting to test out her theory she got in touch with a professor at the University of Exeter.
Together, they developed a program and enlisted 20 volunteers to try palate strengthening vocal exercises every day for three months. Their snoring volumes were recorded for a week before and after the program.
Lo and behold, at the end of the trial, most of the participants that did the routine faithfully and correctly emerged with less of a snoring problem.
Since the program’s launch, Ojay has received gushing praise from the people it’s helped as well as those who sleep next to them.
