Unfiltered Thoughts

2023.05.05 – 0855 – Myth 1: You Need To Drink at Least Eight Glasses of Water a Day
H2O No-Nos – Busting 5 Myths About Water and Hydration[1] Myth 1: You need to drink at least eight glasses of water a dayNope: After all, how big are the glasses, how big are you? Have you done any exercise or need more water, or eaten a ton of watermelon and need less? How hot are you? Like the porridge in Goldilocks that had to be not too hot and not too cold, we each need enough to avoid dehydration and not too much to cause hyponatremia.
Water is hugely important and drinking it is cheap, easy and helps the voice systemically and topically, but like “walk 10,000 steps a day”, the basic eight-glasses claim has seemingly no basis in fact [2]. As a voice pro, you need to be intentional about your water intake especially if you have less water from other sources, or you are using up more of it, but the rigid ‘rule’ of eight-glasses seeing you right, is a myth.  [1] Adapted from https://www.npr.org/2022/09/21/1124371309/busting-common-hydration-water-myths [2] https://journals.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/ajpregu.00365.2002 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.05.04 – 0854 – The Food And Drink Good List  
The ‘good’ listHave these in moderation; you don’t want to feel full and bloated during a four-hour radio show. Neither do you want to feel nauseous, or feel the need for a toilet break, or suffer from either form of gas in a small studio.
Eat enough of the right foods to keep your energy levels up – preferring fresh over anything processed.
Fruit – in general fruits are good as they contain lots of water – especially ones such as mangoes, melons and peaches - but they’re not all made equal! Citrus fruits can be packed with ‘straight-to-your-bloodstream’ sugar, though a banana will give you studio ‘staying power’, and a green apple will help freshen your mouth. Chicken and fish – lean protein fills you up and gives you energy without the fat and oils from other meats and the associated problems caused by them.Water – yeah “hydrate, mate!”, especially with room temperature water, both before, during and after your performance. Before? Yes, you need to up your water intake a good day before to build up a ‘foundation of hydration’ in your whole body, with top ups on the day to keep your folds moistened and to clean and lubricate your articulators. How much water?: “If your pee’s white, you’ll sound all right…” Local honey – can help keep bugs at bay. Remember it may be soothing to drink and may calm a tickle at the back of your throat, but it won’t ever touch the folds themselves.
Do eat and drink something. There’s no point starving yourself! You need vocal and mental energy to concentrate and perform.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.05.03 – 0853 – The Food And Drink Naughty List  
The ‘bad’ listDairy - Milk, yoghurt, cheese can all be difficult for the body to break down and so cause acid reflux which can ‘burn’ your vocal folds. It can also thicken mucus, causing you to clear your throat more often and reducing the manoeuvrability of your tongue. Processed sugar - Boiled and chewy sweets and juice drinks can be heavily processed causing phlegm in some people. And after an initial sugar rush, comes the sugar crash affecting you mentally too. Caffeine - Coffee is thought to cause dehydration in some people. It will certainly cause a post-caffeine crash which you want to avoid.Chocolate - Chocolate contains not only dairy and sugar, but also natural caffeine - so it’s a triple-threat snack attack.Fried food and butter - Oil and grease are both heartburn triggers. Butter is of course a dairy product too (see above). Iced water - Water’s good yeah? Well room temperature is best, to avoid throat-shock has you swallow it. Carbonated drinks and sodas - These are certainly not, top of the pops. Not only do they have belching-induced bubbles but also invariably they’re full of sugar.Alcohol - Leave ‘warming up lubrication’ to the announcers of yesteryear. Not only will the use of drink affect the perception others have of you, it could make you slur your words. On its own it may dry your throat, and with a mixer it may overly increase your sugar intake.Spicy food - Heartburn issues again I’m afraid.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.05.02 – 0852 – The Food And Drink That Can Damage Your Voice   EATING AND DRINKINGIt’s not so much what you should eat as what you should not, because, apart from foods which add to your water intake, there are few which actively help your voice. Most foods either hurt it, or make little or no difference either way.
If these ‘bad’ items affect you at all, it will be likely be to a different extent to other people – we are all different. It may need a diary and detective work to find out what to reduce your intake of, by how much and how far before a performance. Professional dietary help may be useful in this regard.
Note that some of these items are not only affecting your voice directly, but have other associated side effects on your performance. And the regular reminder that none of these foods or drinks will ever directly touch your vocal folds, unless it’s just before you choke!  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.05.01 – 0851 – Your ‘Goldilocks’ Vocal Folds   ‘Breathy (or ‘aspirated’) onset’ – when they don’t close enough This happens when there is a lack of firm closure of the vocal folds, so excessive air escapes through them as you create sound and the resulting voice is ‘breathy’. ‘Glottal’ onset – the folds are brought together before air pressure is increased, and are ‘blown apart’ to start phonationThe vocal folds are over compressed and brought together with force to initiate sound. The air pressure then builds up below the folds before sound is released in a mini explosion. Excessive air pressure, when released, is traumatic to the delicate tissues of the vocal folds. ‘Smooth’ onset – this is when the air flow and the folds come together at the same time, resulting in a balanced sound.The folds are correctly positioned, the subglottal air pressure (that’s the pressure of air from the lungs) is correct, the sound is efficiently created.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.04.30 – 0850 – Vocal Trauma  A secondary problem comes when you release that breath through the previously tightened folds.  Added together you have the very real possibility of ‘vocal trauma’, serious damage to your folds. Think through the vocalisations that often come with the gym-strains of ‘glottal attack’ – using that pressure behind the larynx to give added strength through added tension. You have seen it (perhaps with weightlifters or tennis players), if not done it yourself, perhaps when you lift a heavy box, say.  The noise that often precedes the breath-holding (something like “erghh!”) then the lifting up of the box, and then as you set it down, a release (“arghhh”!). Avoid potential vocal trauma by not vocalising these strains, or if you have to make them (especially the release-sound), make it softer, a ‘sshhh’ sound, rather than a sudden vocal “argh!”. Lots of relaxing moves after the strain of weightlifting will also reduce any necessarily-held tension.  So, as a voice professional, with any kind of exercise be careful of this kind of grunting as it tenses and can damage your vocal folds. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.04.29 – 0849 – Sub-Glottal Pressure  VOICE BOXSub-glottal Pressure OK, so ‘sub’ is ‘below’, so this is the pressure below the glottis. A ‘glottal stop’ is the stop-start airflow from your throat in a word such as ‘uh-oh’ or when the word ‘butter’ is said without the middle t’s: ‘buh-er’. Indeed, ironically, the word ‘glottal’ also includes a glottal stop.  Those sounds are made by closing and opening of the vocal folds. If you say ‘butter’ in the usual way and gently and slowly, and then without the t’s, you should be able to feel the slight and momentary resistance that your folds are under before air is allowed to flow again. We also use sub-glottal pressure as we hold your breath as you push or pull, say lift something heavy or more dramatically, give birth, or do resistance training. The pressure in the lungs helps tense surrounding muscles to give stability and strength to make exertion easier. That’s a lot of strain on the small glottal ‘valve’ and a lot of tension being held in the neck (and potentially if continued, a sore throat and headache).  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.04.28 – 0848 – Help! The Gym Has Wrecked My Voice!  But beware: ·        Strong physical exertion soon before a presentation can cause physical exhaustion which will be heard in your voice·        Weightlifting and working out your upper body and neck and shoulder area can cause stress and tension ·        Damage from exercise such as from weightlifting, pull ups, rowing or even bent over a cycling machine for a long time, can pull muscles in your neck and shoulders, limiting your movement and causing stress in your breathing. (In fact, any pain from menstrual to mini-migraine, will distract you from your best vocal performance.)·        Pushing and pulling exertion can cause overuse of the glottal pressure, so be very careful. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.04.27 – 0847 – Fit Body Factors: intensity and balance
Factors to consider:·        Exercise intensity – how hard you push yourself and for how longo  Especially on days that you will be performingo  Be careful of ‘red lining’ – there’s usually no need to push things to the maxo  Muscular damage or failure can be painful and long term, affecting you emotionally as well as physically·        Exercise balanceo  The exercise selection – don’t overwork one particular group, so balance ‘pulling’ with running and swimming.o  Be aware of overworking on the weights – straining neck and trapezius muscles (at the top of the back) can affect your throat area and so, your vocal performance.o  A rigid rectus abdominus (a six-pack to you and me), is suboptimal for breathingo  Cardio work is very important – choose LISS work over HIIT work[1]
[1] LISS, or Low Intensity Steady State, involves consistent effort at a steady pace for an allotted amount of time. HIIT, or High Intensity Interval Training, involves short bursts with high effort, followed by lower effort rest intervals. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

2023.04.26 – 0846 – Fit Body, Fit Voice Physical fitness and trainingOf course, your voice needs the rest of you to be in shape, your overall health, fitness, strength and posture, not just the actual vocal mechanics! And that means the right kind of exercise:·        Core and aerobic exercises help you with strength and breath control·        Aerobic exercise, such as swimming or running, help vocal stamina by increasing the speed the muscles are oxygenated·        Swimming will also help your lung capacity·        Activities that develop body alignment, muscle strength, dexterity and balance, such as Tai Chi and Yoga, also promote better mind/body connection and encourage greater vocal flexibility. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.