Vocal Health and Lifestyle Habits in Professional Theater Actors: A Pilot Study
Objective:
This pilot study aimed to analyze the relationship between lifestyle habits and vocal symptoms in professional theater actors, focusing on the associations between hydration, caffeine intake, stress, vocal cool-down routines, and laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR).
Methods:
Twelve professional actors from the Djavan Ensemble theater company (aged 28–49 years; mean = 38.4 ± 6.3) participated in this study. A structured questionnaire assessed vocal habits, lifestyle behaviors, and vocal and reflux-related symptoms. Descriptive and inferential analyses were performed using Pearson’s chi-square test (p < 0.05).
Results:
Vocal fatigue was reported by 75% of participants, while 58.3% had inadequate hydration (<2 L/day), and 75% consumed three or more cups of coffee daily. Significant associations were found between poor hydration and vocal fatigue (χ² = 14.86; p = 0.005), high caffeine intake and reflux symptoms (χ² = 17.71; p = 0.007), moderate-to-high stress and vocal fatigue (χ² = 14.86; p = 0.005), and absence of vocal cool-down and fatigue (χ² = 14.86; p = 0.005). Longer sleep duration (≥7 h) correlated with a higher prevalence of reflux symptoms (χ² = 20.23; p < 0.001), likely due to late-night eating following performances.
Conclusion:
Lifestyle habits such as hydration, caffeine consumption, stress, and vocal recovery routines appear to play a critical role in vocal health among professional actors. These findings represent preliminary results from a pilot sample. Data collection is ongoing with additional theater companies, and updated analyses with a larger cohort will be presented at the symposium.
Keywords:
Vocal fatigue; hydration; caffeine; reflux; lifestyle; actors; professional voice users