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Oropharyngeal exercises significantly reduce snoring frequency

Individuals who participated in mouth and tongue exercises for 3 months reduced their snoring frequency by 36% and the total power of snoring by 59%, according to recent study results.

“Oropharyngeal exercises can reduce the objective measurements of frequency and intensity of snoring,” Vanessa Ieto, PhD, of the University of São Paulo Medical School in Brazil, and colleagues wrote. “This set of oropharyngeal exercises is a promising treatment for large populations suffering from snoring that are currently largely ignored by the medical community.”

Ieto and colleagues randomly assigned 39 participants recently diagnosed with primary snoring or mild-to-moderate obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) to either 3 months of treatment with nasal dilator strips and respiratory exercises or daily mouth and tongue exercises.

Participants in the dilator strips group (n = 20) were instructed to use the strips during sleep, to perform nasal cleansing with saline solution three times daily and to perform deep nasal breathing exercises while sitting. The therapy group ( n = 19) was instructed to perform nasal cleansings three times a day followed by mouth and tongue exercises for about 8 minutes.

Exercises included:

• pushing the tip of the tongue against the hard palate and sliding the tongue backward (20 times);
• sucking the tongue upward against the palate, pressing the entire tongue against the palate (20 times);
• forcing the back of the tongue against the floor of the mouth while keeping the tip of the tongue in contact with the inferior incisors (20 times); and
• elevating the soft palate and uvula while intermittently saying the letter ‘a’ (20 times).

Among the therapy group participants, subjective snoring perception reported on questionnaires by their bed partners decreased for intensity (P = .003) and frequency (P = .004) of snoring between baseline and 3 months. Changes for participants using the dilator strips were not statistically significant.

“This study demonstrates a promising, noninvasive treatment for large populations suffering from snoring, the snorers and their bed partners, that are largely omitted from research and treatment,” Barbara Phillips, MD, FCCP, president-designate of the American College of Chest Physicians, said in a press release. “Frankly, this will change the advice that I give to my patients who snore. And that’s a lot of people.” – by Ryan McDonald

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.