Everyone snores occasionally. That’s nothing new! Sometimes you’re a little groggy; other times, you might just be feeling the effects of a blocked nose due to a cold or some other sickness. In these cases, snoring is rarely anything to worry. However, snoring can quickly become problematic. If you or a loved one are snoring regularly, it might be a sign of or precursor to sleep apnea, a faulty tonsil, or some other health issue — particularly if accompanied by infections, fevers or swollen tonsils or other mouthparts. Here are some simple tips and tricks to performing mouth and breathing exercises to help reduce snoring.
1.Alignment of the jaw
Tensioning the jaw muscles presses the air passage, which often results in the throat tissues opening up and triggering the snoring. Dr. George Lewkovitz of the says that the airflow increases when the jaw is properly aligned, or the lower jaw and tongue are placed forward. Breathing deeply and imitating the way you chew gum several times a day produces this effect. By protruding the lower jaw outward and beyond the upper jaw, showing the teeth, for 10 seconds five to 10 times a day is also beneficial.
2. Work your throat muscles.
For you introverted folks out there, this one is a more silent exercise. Slowly open your mouth wide, being careful not to go too broad, so you don’t dislocate your jaw. (Sounds silly, but it happens more often than you might think!) Once your mouth is fully open, feel out the back muscle of your throat and contract it, steadily and repeatedly, for 30 seconds. Not sure if you are doing it correctly? Take a look in the mirror while performing this exercise. The uvula — the little dangly thing in the back of your throat that many of us used to think was our tonsil — should be moving up in down with each contraction. You should also lift your soft palate 20 times at least, or until you start feeling the soreness that indicates that the exercise is opening your passageways.
3. Work your tongue and lips.
If you are a habitually grumpy person, your time has come. Close your mouth firmly and purse your lips for 30 straight seconds. This will stretch out your jaw and work the side muscles of your throat and mouth. Next, take the tip of your tongue and press it gently to the back of your front top teeth. Then, slide it backward, then forwards again. Repeat this motion, slowly but steadily, for three minutes each day. If it starts to hurt a little bit, you are doing it right — it is a sign that your muscles are working. Furthermore, you should place the tip of the tongue as well on the roof of your mouth, and pull it backward, as well as suck the tongue up to the roof of the mouth. You should also press the back of your tongue down against the bottom of your mouth while making sure the tip is pressing against the inside of the top two front teeth. Repeat every single one of these actions at least 20 times, or until you feel the hinges of your tongue starting to feel a bit sore. You will notice the effects on your snoring very soon.
4.Tongue stretches
Relaxing your tongue during sleep can reduce the passageways in your airways and partially block the air circulation. This often results in a dull and annoying noise, because the language vibrates against the tissues of the throat during breathing. Breathing deeply and doing tongue stretching every day can minimize this type of snoring and increase the flow of air through your throat muscles conditioned to stay in a firm position while you sleep. Stretch your tongue daily by achieving several repetitions and extend it down and up, so try to expand it as if you want to reach your tongue and nose.
5. Work on how you’re eating.
While you are eating, bite your teeth down and then raise the tongue to the roof of the mouth right while you swallow your food. Try to do this without having your cheek muscles contract. (Your muscles can contract, but you should at least try to do it without them moving — it’s the effort that works your muscles and opens your passageways, not the actual distance of the movement itself.
6. Nasal release.
According to the late Russian doctor Konstantin Buteyko, training your body to breathe less is the key to quell the snoring associated with nasal congestion. Blocked nasal passages often result in snoring coming from the throat and the palate due to an excess of fluid accumulation in the throat tissues and hyperventilation. Buteyko said that passages usually blocked with too much breathing. The conditioning of your body to breathe deeply through the nose throughout the day can alleviate throat spasms and respiratory arrhythmia that triggers nasal snoring at night.