Summer Time Vocal Tips: Don’t think that your vocal difficulties will be gone with the wintertime's violent viruses and microbes!

In certain parts of the world, summer means heat and dampness, which means your body finds it difficult to keep cool. In other words, during hot days, your body temperature may rise significantly. This may have the following ill-effects:

• Dehydration and loss of minerals vital for your nervous and muscular systems, including your vocal cords.
• Impairment of your heart functioning, which means a decrease of blood supply to vocal cords in particular and your muscles in general.
• Decrease in available energy amounts.
• Decrease in oxygen intake and impaired airflow control.

Attention: in the summertime, your appetite decreases, which may result in weight loss, which, in turn, may increase dehydration and vital minerals loss.

These effects combined may decrease your vocal abilities and increase the vocal effort required.

What to do?

Well, your body can adapt to extreme conditions, but you must help it, the following way:

Adjust your diet:

• Drink a lot of water: at least 2 liters a day, preferably cold, (at a temperature of 4-degree centigrade), for quicker absorption by the stomach. Before any intense vocal activity, drink between 2 and 3 cups of water. Carefully make sure to drink regularly throughout the day.
• Eat citruses, tomatoes, and bananas, to compensate for the minerals loss.
• Eat a lot of fruits and vegetables rich in water.
• Eat salty food for supper, to compensate for the minerals lost through urination (due to intense drinking). On extremely hot days, lick salt, to prevent dehydration.

Avoid the following:

• sweetened soft drinks, since the extra sugar will decrease your stomach’s water absorption capacity and hinder the natural cooling of your body.
• Drinks containing caffeine and alcohol, since they stimulate urination and dehydration.
• “heavy foods”, that is, foods that you know they make you feel “heavy”.
  

In extremely hot days, cool yourself in several ways, such as:

• When outdoors, if you feel dehydrated, place a towel cooled in a refrigerator on your head.
• On extremely hot days, try to stay in climate-controlled places, and avoid intense exercises, to save energy. Note: a climate control system’s air can dry up your throat, so make sure to keep a window open. If you feel too cold, wear additional clothes.
• Dip yourself in cold water, or wash with cold water at when you finish taking a shower.
• Our weekly tip: to refresh your throat on hot summer days, use TMRG Voice Saline Oil Spray. For vocal professionals, TMRG Classic Spray is better, since it improves vocal quality.

Most importantly, keep performing your vocal exercises, even in hot days, at least a few minutes a day!

For any questions regarding your vocal performance, just email us.

So keep safe and sound!

Talya TMRG voice specialist.