Why is your voice deeper in the morning?

Have you ever wondered why your voice sounds deeper when you first wake up? It’s not just because you sound like a grumpy bear who hasn’t had their morning coffee yet, although that may be part of it. There are actual scientific reasons behind this phenomenon that will probably make more sense than anything else happening in the year 2020. So, before we dive into the science, grab yourself a cup of joe and let’s get started!

The Vocal Cords: An Introduction

The vocal cords are two folds located inside your larynx (voice box) that vibrate as air passes through them to produce sound. When you speak or sing, your vocal cords come together and vibrate hundreds of times per second creating those sweet melodies.

Fun fact: Did you know that on average men have longer vocal cords than women which makes their voices generally lower pitch? #genderfacts

Why Does Our Voice Sound Higher During The Daytime?

During daytime hours our vocal cords are plump and well-hydrated from all the fluids we drink during the day. This allows them to vibrate easily without too much effort and results in a higher pitched voice.

But wait! All hope is not lost for our baritone-loving friends out there.

Enter Sleep: A Game Changer

When we sleep at night our bodies go through various changes, including hormonal fluctuations that contribute to lower-pitched voices upon waking up. While we’re asleep, blood oxygen levels decrease relative to when were awake (which explains why people snore!) . As oxygen levels decrease so does muscle tone throughout the body – including those oh-so desirable vocal cord muscles. With less tense muscles surrounding them getting back into shape after being squished since we’ve been sleeping becomes harder and takes more energy resulting in slower vibrating movements/vibrations when air passes over the vocal cords, which in turn results in a lower pitch!

So it’s not just your brain that needs to warm up in the morning – it’s actually whole body!

Additional Fun Fact: Drinking alcohol before bedtime can exacerbate this effect since alcohol increases the relaxation of muscles (along with other social benefits).
So if you want a voice deeper than Barry White, might we suggest passing on that Gin and Tonic before bed.

Other Factors That Can Affect Your Voice

While sleep and hydration play major roles (as always: DRINK MORE WATER) there are several factors that contribute to changes in our voices throughout the day including:

Time of Day

As we mentioned earlier, daytime hours are when our voices will be higher pitched due to well-hydrated vocal cords.

Hormonal Cycles

For those rocking those uteruses’ menstrual cycles play a roll along; hormonal fluctuations during your cycle or pregnancy may result in lower-pitched singing.

Smoking/Alcohol Consumption

It’s no secret smoking cigarettes has many adverse health effects but did you know they can also affect pitch? Furthermore consuming excess amounts of alcohol causes dehydration ultimately leading to dryness-which is never good; like ever….In addition people who smoke experience additional drying out and damage making adjustments even more difficult for some creating additional complications. Talk about insult to injury right?

Vocal Stress/Overuse

Just like any muscle group repeated use overtime without ample healing time leads inflammation/swelling thrown alongside laryngitis/sinus infections particularly common ailments changing tonally especially lowering sound supply/intensity crucial for young musicians finding their tonal anchor footing early on.

Whew! Who knew so much was going on behind the scenes five minutes after waking up through coughs,calls,& groaning fits?

Conclusion

Our voices are incredible instruments capable of producing an array sounds based off range,volume, and tonality- shaping & conveying messages in ways beyond simple syllables. Through hydrating rightly, timing workflows, chem/microbeil fluctuations or vocal utilization practices one can have a profound influence on altering our voices we sure hope you’re equipped to put knowledge into practice!

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