Oro-facial & Tongue Exercises for Sleep Apnea

February 24, 2011

I was recently asked about references for orofacial or tongue exercises for sleep apnea. In my experience, all these exercises work to various degrees. There are a number of resources on the internet that I know of:

Janet Bennet has a DVD/training program for snoring. She’s a speech pathologist that accidentally discovered that exercises for tongue thrust helped with snoring significantly.

This paper showed that orofacial exercises can significantly reduce snoring and symptoms of sleep apnea. There’s even a free short video that shows the various exercises.

A paid exercise program for sleep apnea. A more condensed, free version can be found here.

This is not an oral or tongue exercise, but playing the didgeridoo has been to be found helpful.

There are even singing exercises for snoring.

Have you tried any of these options, and if so, how well did it work?

Written by Steven Park · Filed Under Blog | 5 Comments

Can Didgeridoo Playing, Tongue Exercises, Or Breathe Rite Strips Help Cure Sleep Apnea?

January 10, 2011

In this Ask Dr. Park teleseminar I reveal which of the following over-the-counter devices and programs for snoring and sleep apnea really work:

- Didgeridoo
- Tongue exercises
- Chin straps
- Boil-and-Bite anti-snore mouth guards
- Tongue retaining devices
- Sleep positioners
- Breathe Rite strips
- And many others…

Price: $17.

Click here to purchase the 60 minute MP3 recording.

Written by Steven Park · Filed Under Blog | Leave a Comment

Ask Dr. Park: Over-The-Counter Snoring & Sleep Apnea Options: Do They Work?

December 28, 2010

In this Ask Dr. Park teleseminar I reveal which of the following over-the-counter devices and programs for snoring and sleep apnea really work:

- Didgeridoo
- Tongue exercises
- Chin straps
- Boil-and-Bite anti-snore mouth guards
- Tongue retaining devices
- Sleep positioners
- Breathe Rite strips
- And many others…

Price: $17.

Click here to purchase the 60 minute MP3 recording.

Written by queencel · Filed Under Expert Interviews, Sleep | 2 Comments

Tongue Exercises For Sleep Apnea: Expert Interview With Janet Bennett

May 12, 2010

Tongue Exercises For Sleep Apnea

Tongue exercises can be a noninvasive way of promoting muscle tone in the throat, which can be helpful for some people with snoring or obstructive sleep apnea.

Register below for a FREE replay of this interview with Ms. Janet Bennett, speech pathologist and creator of the I Just Want To Sleep website, about her unique tongue exercise program.

Learn:

What tongue exercises can and can't do

How tongue exercises can help your snoring

What recent studies say about the effectiveness of tongue exercises

Which exercises if done just 5 minutes a day can help you breathe better and sleep better

and much, much more…

Register below to download and listen to this FREE downloadable mp3 recording of this interview.

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Written by Steven Park · Filed Under Audio, Blog, Expert Interviews, Free Products, General Health, Sleep, snoring | 1 Comment

Tongue exercises for sleep apnea?

September 28, 2009

What do singing and playing the didgeridoo have in common? They both involve profound throat and tongue muscle control, and both are found to improve sleep apnea symptoms. Tongue and throat exercises have been around for years, usually offered for people with various speech and swallowing problems. But more recently, they’ve also been advocated for conditions like snoring and obstructive sleep apnea.

You may be asking by now, "does it work?", and my answer is that just like everything else that’s touted to cure snoring and sleep apnea: it works sometimes for some people, to various degrees. You have to be skeptical whenever something new comes out for sleep apnea treatment, but you also have to be open minded as well. There are so many other variables that will affect whether or not one of these options will work for you, in addition to the method itself.

If you’ve been following me for at least 4 years, you may remember that I took part in a small research protocol using tongue exercises for upper airway resistance syndrome. Some patients that took part in this study did feel dramatically better, some felt somewhat better, and others felt no better. Unfortunately, I had to stop the protocol due to logistical issues.

In a recent study that was published earlier this year, researchers in Brazil used tongue, throat, and facial exercises taken from speech and swallow therapy to significantly improve not only how patients felt subjectively, but objectively, the AHI (apnea hypopnea index) dropped as well. While not "curing" sleep apnea completely, they did show that it made a significant difference for many, but not all of the participants. The theory is that exercising oral and facial muscles give it more tone or muscle "memory" so that it doesn’t relax as much, leading to obstruction. It’s similar to progesterone’s effects on tongue muscle, where it increases muscle tone.

Along the same lines, musicians who play certain woodwind instruments are found to have significant improvement by subjective and objective measures. In another study, playing the didgeridoo was found to lower the AHI on average by about 50%. There’s a field called orofacial myology, where therapists help toddlers and children improve oral posture, mouth breathing, and tongue thrust problems.

I wouldn’t say that these methods can take place of your sleep apnea treatment, but if you’re interested, and are motivated, these various methods can complement your formal treatment option. For those of you who refuse or can’t tolerate traditional treatments, this may be something to start off with while you consider other, more definitive options.

Have you tried any of these options, and if so, did it help?

Written by Steven Park · Filed Under Blog | 2 Comments

Tongue Exercise for Sleep Apnea?

May 8, 2009

Brazilian researchers reported that a series of throat exercises, along with breathing exercises and nasal saline irrigation, could improve signs and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea. Volunteers with obstructive sleep apnea were given exercises which were similar to those used traditionally for speech therapy. This randomized study showed that the overall AHI dropped 39% in the study group after 3 months. Daytime sleepiness, snoring, sleep quality and neck size were all significant improved. The sham control group underwent breathing exercises and nasal irrigation only, and there were no significant changes.

These are interesting results which are in line with with my limited past experience using tongue exercises—some people do improve. I started a research project may years ago with Janet Bennett, a speech pathologist who’s the inventor of IJustWantToSleep.com, but had to cancel the study to to various logistical issues with follow-up and compliance. However, there definitely were a significant number of patients that did benefit subjectively to various degrees.

There are other reports of using singing lessons or playing the didgeridoo to strengthen tongue and throat muscles. I don’t think these can replace standard ways of treating obstructive sleep apnea, but if a patient is motivated and is looking for alternative options, then I’ll recommend this.

Written by Steven Park · Filed Under Blog | Leave a Comment