Getting a good night’s rest when you are suffering from sleep apnea can be challenging. You’re constantly being interrupted by choking, gasping, and loud snoring. Not to mention the startling moments when your breathing suddenly stops and starts back again. This alone can leave you and those around you in distress, panic, and ultimately poor sleep.
Visiting an accredited dentist can help treat this condition. Consider a sleep doctor in Utah as they specialize in dental sleep medicine. They focus on oral appliance therapy to reduce the severity of sleep apnea. Another good remedy is doing some mouth exercises on your own to help reduce symptoms.
One study revealed that frequent weight lifting and walking could reduce symptoms by a whopping 25%. Alongside this, you can practice yoga to help you breathe deeply using your diaphragm. This could lower the blockages obstructing your airway, making it easier to sleep.
With that said, there are newly developed oropharyngeal exercises (the area of the throat at the back of the mouth) you can regularly do that will target the problem. This will hopefully reduce sleep apnea’s disturbing and nuisance symptoms. The exercises will certainly help a sufferer by strengthening the throat and airway muscles, sustaining more tension when in a sleep state, and allowing the movement of air to pass easily.
Let’s take a look at what they are here:
1. The Tiger Yell
We recommend you give this throat exercise a try. Named “The Tiger Yell,” all you have to do is imitate the facial traits of a tiger by opening your mouth widely. You’ll have to mimic as though you are about to tell or as a tiger would – roar! Then stick your tongue out as though you’re trying to touch your chin! You can count to 5 seconds and repeat 10 times every day.
2. Rejoice and Sing
Singing is an excellent activity that can strengthen your palate and throat muscles. Begin with easy vocal exercises, such as singing each vowel at a manageable length. This is a great starting point. Then, you can have some musical fun and build your vocal cords by practicing this daily.
3. Do the Tongue Slide
To help alleviate this problematic sleep problem, you can try a beneficial tongue exercise called the “tongue slide.” With this exercise, all you need to do is press the tip of your tongue against the roof of your mouth and then slide it backward. It would be best if you aimed to repeat this simple exercise 20 times.
4. Stretch your Soft Palate
An easy exercise that targets your soft palate is to stretch the area. You will need to open your mouth as wide as possible and say “ahhh” in the back of your throat. Try to continue this sound for about 20 seconds. Then, close your mouth, pause for 5 seconds, and repeat five to ten times.
5. Release the Tension in your Jaw
A good way of exercising a stiffened jaw would be to do the jaw exercise. With your mouth closed and tongue in its resting position, extend your tongue so that it sits against the roof of your mouth. Next, slide the tip of your tongue back as far as it will go at the roof of your mouth. Holding your tongue in this form, gradually open your mouth until your tongue can no longer stay in this position. Repeat for 5 minutes, twice a day.
Conclusion
The connection between sleep apnea and exercise is a positive and essential one for sufferers of this condition. Try these exercises that focus on the throat, tongue, soft palate, and jaw to help reduce this particular sleep problem’s symptoms. Make sure to get in touch with a qualified dentist who is specialized in dealing with sleep problems too!