Hydrate your voice!

One more reason to drink water...

Before we talk about how hydration affects our voice, let’s visualize HOW we make voice: first, air comes up from the lungs on our exhale, this airflow causes the vocal cords (aka “vocal folds”) to vibrate. They sit at the top of the trachea and act somewhat like a gate to the airway. The vocal folds are two bands of muscular tissue that make a V shape (if looking down the mouth with a “birds-eye view”).

When the vocal folds vibrate, it produces sound! The faster the vibration, the higher the pitch of sound produced. In order for the vocal folds to vibrate efficiently and safely, they must be well lubricated and hydrated. It is particularly important consider hydration if you are someone who uses their voice all day  (e.g., teacher, singer, broadcaster, salesperson, ect.) and/or if you are someone who is making significant changes to your voice (e.g., participation in gender affirmation voice therapy). 

How do we “hydrate” the voice?

We can achieve “systemic hydration” + “superficial hydration” - ideally we will have both! 

Systemic hydration refers to the fluid within the body and vocal fold tissues, we can achieve this by drinking water throughout the day and limiting intake of caffeine and alcohol. It’s important to remember that the water we consume does not physically touch or go strait to the vocal cords, being hydrated is not a “quick fix” but a conscious effort throughout your day! 

Superficial hydration is the fluid that lines the surface of the vocal folds, we can achieve this by breathing adequately humidified air.

What happens to the voice if we are dehydrated? 

If you are dehydrated, you may notice additional strain and/or increased effort to produce voice, you may also feel fatigue and discomfort. Over time producing voice while dehydrated can lead to long-term damage. Additional factors can contribute to dehydration, such as: 

• Menopause 

• Certain medications 

• Environmental factors (e.g., living in a dry climate… such as Calgary!) 

• Excessive consumption of caffeine and/or alcohol

5 small changes to improve your hydration TODAY:

1. Breath in through your nose - the human nose is a built in humidifier!

   
   

2. If you are drinking caffeine or alcohol, try to match your drinks 1:1 with a glass of water (e.g., for every cup of coffee you drink, have a cup of water too).

   
   

3. Use a humidifier at home - especially in Calgary, our air is DRY!  

   
   

4. Add high water content foods into your diet.

   
   

5. Most importantly, sip water throughout your whole day!

   
   

   

   
   
   
   

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Vocal Hygiene at Beyond Speech

Hydration is just one important part of our overall “vocal hygiene” - if you have any questions regarding your voice - please do not hesitate to send us an email or set up a free virtual consultation! 

Please contact info@beyondspeechservices.com with any questions.

OR

Fill out our contact form to schedule a session with a Speech-Language Pathologist!