Should you rest your voice or not? That is the question. When does vocal rest make sense, when
is vocal rest counterproductive and what other approaches may be more helpful than voice rest
and in which situations? I am going to answer all of these questions in this video. So, let’s start.
Hi! I am Katarina, speech language pathologist and here on this channel, I share practical tips
about using your voice in a healthy way. So, if this is a topic that interests you,
consider subscribing to this channel and hitting that bell notification icon so
that you don’t miss any of my future videos. Before I talk about vocal rest, let me give
you the why. If you understand the basic concept of how your voice works, then you will be able to
make good choices for your voice. When you talk or sing, your vocal folds come together and they
vibrate against each other 100s or even 1000s times per second. There is contact between the
tissue of the vocal folds every time you make a voice sound. The human voice is an amazing
mechanism that is built to handle this impact but not all the time. You need to give your voice a
chance to recover. Even when your vocal technique is amazing, even if you trained for years, giving
your voice a chance to rest is a good vocal health practice. Your voice will be happier and healthier
when you give it plenty of opportunities to rest, recover, rehydrate and relax.
Here are three most common scenarios that require some level of vocal rest.
Scenario #1 Serious vocal injuries I talked about vocal rest in my previous videos,
and I explained that there are basically 2 types of voice rest. Absolute and relative vocal rest.
Absolute vocal rest means that you are not using your voice at all, it means complete silence,
which is amazingly challenging unless you are living on a desert island. But absolute
vocal rest is very important after certain vocal fold injuries, such as vocal fold bleeding and
surgeries. Your vocal folds will not heal properly if they are overused during this period of time.
It’s the same way, you do not run after a knee surgery. So if you are preparing for such surgery,
your laryngologist or speech-language pathologist will explain the expectations, time lines and
some tips to get you through this time. If you have any questions about this,
let me know in the comments. And while you are down there, check out my other resources for your
voice in the description below this video. Scenario #2 High vocal demands
If you are someone who uses your voice all day long and every day, then including short vocal
breaks or so called vocal naps throughout the day is a practice that can give your voice the time to
regenerate. Maybe you are a teacher, singer, speaker, sales person, call centre operator,
customer service representative, preacher, fitness instructor, presenter, lecturer, or someone else
who uses your voice for your job and then for daily tasks outside of your job, like talking to
your family and friends. I consider these people vocal athletes because they are no different from
professional runners, soccer, football, tennis, basketball or whatever sport players. They are
just using a different part of their body with high intensity. Professional athletes have
built in rest days into their routines. Many vocal athletes in these professions take their voice for
granted because most of them never experience any vocal issues or only minor vocal issues. However,
a simple and easy strategy of relative vocal break can help them avoid serious vocal issues.
What does it mean practically? Know exactly how much and when you are going to use your voice.
Build in rest periods before and after vocally demanding tasks. If you have an extremely voice
heavy day ahead of you, set aside a big chunk of time for voice rest. For example, it is not
uncommon for singers in leading roles to be silent for the rest of the night after their performance.
If you are a speaker who needs to deliver an important speech, then build in these periods
of voice rest into your day. If you are a teacher or lecturer, sprinkle short periods
for vocal naps throughout the day. I know this may be challenging but it is possible. Brainstorm and
come up with creative ideas. Organize activities where your students don’t require you talking.
Don’t speak on the phone or with your colleagues during lunch break. Avoid talking in noisy rooms.
Schedule quiet activities into your day, like responding to emails or texting. If you take
vocal naps throughout the day, you are giving your voice a chance to restore in small doses.
And there is one more thing you could do to boost your voice. But let me first talk about:
Scenario #3 Other vocal issues
If you are someone who has vocal issues, such as chronic laryngitis,
recurrent hoarseness, vocal nodules, vocal fatigue or similar difficulties,
then relative vocal rest is highly recommended together with some retraining.
Let’s talk about relative vocal rest first. This is not a set of fixed rules, it is more of
a process of finding the best solution for your voice and life. It is about understanding vocal
risks and prioritizing voice use for the most important vocal tasks. This may mean that you
avoid most intense vocal tasks, such as yelling, singing or teaching without amplification.
This may mean cutting down your time on the phone. This may mean making careful choices about when to
talk and when to listen. This may mean raising your awareness of how loud you are speaking.
A good guideline may be “talk half as much and half as loud”. And this means scheduling,
and I mean really scheduling so writing down in your calendar, periods of voice breaks
throughout the day. The more diligent you are with voice rest, the faster your voice will heal.
If you are experiencing vocal strain, tension or even pain when speaking,
and you are ready to work towards a free, strong and confident voice, you can apply to our Vocal
Freedom System coaching program. Check out the links in the description below this video.
A huge mistake I see many people make when they are dealing with vocal issues is that
they prescribe themselves complete silence and hope that when they start talking again,
their voice will be magically fixed. It is important to understand that some vocal issues
develop as a result of voice overuse. If you start talking after a period of vocal silence but
continue overusing your voice or continue using the type of voicing that caused vocal nodules or
other voice problems, you will end up in the same place. Silence will help minimize forceful
vocal fold closure but the nodules will return if the underlying behaviours are not addressed.
So what is the answer to my initial question: will vocal rest heal my vocal cords?
Not necessarily. A vocal exercise that improves vocal function together with
voice rest may be a better option. For example, gentle humming is an exercise that I recommend to
anyone who is dealing with a vocal issue or anyone who has high demands on their voice.
I made several videos in which I demonstrate gentle humming exercises.
Or any other SOVT exercises, or semi occluded vocal tract exercises are a good option.
If you want more gentle exercises, let me invite you to my Vocal Gym. This is an online membership
program that delivers one exercise for your voice every single day. Keep your voice in top shape
with short 2-minute exercises. Click the link here or in the description below to learn more about
this program. Bonus tip
Research tells us that meditation in combination with resonant exercises, such as
humming exercises, may be even more helpful in reducing vocal folds swelling and healing of the
vocal folds tissue. And meditation does not have to be a long practice. If you are not someone who
meditates easily, then try breathing exercises or progressive relaxation. This practice will
stimulate your parasympathetic nervous system, or the rest and digest system in your body.
If you found this video helpful, click the like button and share it with your
friends. Check out my other videos right here below. See you soon. Bye.