The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke estimates that 18 million Americans have sleep apnea. The disorder creates multiple brief episodes during sleep in which people stop breathing. A 2009 study by Sao Paulo Medical School in Brazil suggests that doing tongue, mouth and jaw exercises -- also known as oropharyngeal exercises -- may reduce some of your sleep apnea symptoms.
Sleep Apnea
Sleep apnea's name is derived from the Greek word "apnea," meaning "without breath," according to the American Sleep Apnea Association. In the best-known form of sleep apnea, obstructive sleep apnea, the soft tissue in the back of the throat collapses and closes during sleep. Repeated sleep interruptions make people sleepy during the daytime and more likely to experience car accidents, heart trouble and death during sleep from sudden respiratory arrest. The typical sleep apnea patient is an overweight, middle-aged man or woman who snores loudly and may have high blood pressure or some physical abnormality in part of his airway, but apnea can also strike children and younger adults.
New Apnea Treatment
Current treatment options include surgery, wearing a plastic mask at night that pumps air via a tube and medications. A team of researchers at the Sao Paulo Medical School in Brazil published a 2009 study which suggests that tongue, mouth and jaw exercises may be another option. The researchers studied 31 patients with moderate obstructive sleep apnea. Half of the patients were given a placebo therapy of breathing exercises and nasal washes; the other half of the patients were given oropharyngeal exercises. After three months, the patients doing the oropharyngeal exercises had improvements in their snoring symptoms, sleepiness and quality of sleep.
Tongue Exercises
The Brazilian researchers recommend four tongue exercises for sleep apnea patients. First, brush the top and sides of your tongue with a toothbrush while keeping your tongue on the floor of your mouth. Do each movement five times, three times per day. Second, place the tip of your tongue against the back of your upper front teeth and slide your tongue backward. Do this for a total of three minutes throughout the day. Third, press your entire tongue against the roof of your mouth for a total of three minutes each day. Fourth, put the tip of your tongue against the back of your lower front teeth and push the back of your tongue against the floor of your mouth for a total of three minutes each day.
Mouth Exercises
You should also try the recommended mouth and jaw muscle exercises, including pronouncing a vowel for three minutes each day, tightening your mouth in a sucking motion and putting a finger in your mouth at the edge of your lips and pushing your cheek outward.
References
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke: Brain Basics: Understanding Sleep
- American Sleep Apnea Association: Sleep Apnea Information
- Talk About Sleep: A Brief History Of Sleep Medicine
- "American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine"; Effects of Oropharyngeal Exercises; Kátia C. Guimarães, et al., 2009
