London, April 17 (IANS): If snoring is ruining your sound sleep, learning to play the flute can do wonders. Indian researchers have found that playing wind instruments lowers your risk of developing the sleep disorder obstructive sleep apnoea.

The researchers believe this is due to the increased muscle tone in the upper airways, which wind instrument players are likely to have.

"The findings of our study present an interesting theory on preventative measures or treatment in sleep apnoea," said one of the authors of the study, Silas Daniel Raj.

Wind instrument playing could become a cheap and non-invasive method of preventing sleep apnoea in those at risk of developing the condition, Raj pointed out.

Raj and his colleagues conducted lung function testing in 64 people who played a wind instrument and compared results to a control group of 65 people who did not play any wind instruments.

All participants also completed the Berlin questionnaire, an established method used to assess the risk of sleep apnoea.

When analysing the results of the questionnaires, the researchers found that the group who played the wind instruments had a lower risk of developing sleep apnoea.

However, no difference was seen between the two groups in the lung function tests.

The relative risk of developing sleep apnoea based on the questionnaire was 0.18 in the wind instrument players, with a relative risk of less than one indicating a lower risk compared to controls.

The research was presented at the Sleep and Breathing Conference 2015 in Barcelona, Spain.