Snoring and sleep apnea or sleep disordered breathing (SDB):
The first sign of SDB is mouth breathing or snoring. Many fail to recognize that this can be a connection to more serious conditions, that being obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). OSA is defined as the partial or complete blockage of the airway during one’s sleep. When an individual is mouth breathing, a low tongue posture is present. A low tongue posture means the tongue falls to the back of the throat, blocking the airway. When proper tongue posture is present, the tongue is forward and up, thus opening the airway.
Symptoms in adults include:
Snoring, chronic pain, nighttime clenching/grinding, silent pauses in breathing, choking/ gasping sounds, insomnia, unrefreshed sleep, daytime drowsiness, morning headaches, poor concentration, brain fog, memory problems, irritability, anxiety, depression, high blood
pressure, diabetes, heart disease, allergies and asthma, obesity, stroke, accelerated aging, acid reflux/GERD, Alzheimer’s disease, cancer, and many more.
Sleep Apnea indicators in children include:
Nocturnal indicators-night sweats, teeth grinding, sleep walking, sleep talking, night terrors, restless, waking often, and bed wetting.
Daytime indicators-waking tired, waking up with headaches, reduced energy, emotional changes, trouble concentrating, behavior issues, anxiety (ADHD symptoms), reduced exercise tolerance, obesity, sugar cravings, allergies and asthma, chronic ear, throat, and nasal infections.
Myofunctional Therapy is an extremely useful tool for the treatment of mouth breathing or mild to moderate sleep apnea. In addition to concentrating on the oral cavity and tongue, it also concentrates on the face muscles and neck. Simply put, it teaches you to breathe through your nose once again and to keep the tongue in its proper position at the roof of the mouth. By doing so, you are improving the oxygen levels to your brain and body by opening the airway at the back of the throat. This results in a healthy and rested individual.
Therapy goals can be achieved in a fairly short amount of time with dedicated effort. It is non- invasive, inexpensive and a profound adjunct to other sleep apnea treatments!
