Since the start of the pandemic, treatment methods to fight against Covid-19 have flourished. The latest? Sing. This would improve the respiratory quality of patients, according to a study conducted by British researchers and published in la revue The Lancet Respiratory Medicine.
Many cases of Covid long
“Covid-19 can cause long-term illness and disability, which is increasingly seen as a major global challenge,” note the researchers in the introduction to their study. In the United Kingdom, specialists estimate that 1.3 million people suffer from long Covid, or 2% of the population.
Symptoms include loss of taste and smell, headaches, persistent fatigue, but also continuous shortness of breath, anxiety and loss of quality of life. It is on these last three points that British researchers from Imperial College London and Imperial College Healthcare have focused their research.
To carry out their study, the specialists measured the quality of breath of 150 candidates. All suffered from shortness of breath for more than 4 weeks, some also suffered from anxiety.
Singing lessons for the sick
The researchers divided them into two groups. A first received usual care. The other followed a program called “Breath”. For six weeks, the participants took singing lessons with singers from the English National Opera. The objective was to learn and hum lullabies, supposed to calm and soothe the sick. After the experiment, the participants rated their shortness of breath at rest and after physical exertion.
Result ? The people who took the singing class noticed an improvement in their breath compared to the group that did not take the Breath program.
“Our results suggest that a breathing and wellness program can improve respiratory symptoms, including shortness of breath, and mental health in people with persistent signs after Covid-19 infection,” conclude the specialists.