Mouth Exercises for Snoring

Mouth exercises, also called myofunctional therapy, are movements that engage parts of the mouth, face, and throat to improve the mobility, function, and positioning of muscles that affect nighttime breathing.

Targeted mouth exercises may reduce snoring and improve your nighttime breathing. Although there are no established guidelines about the type and frequency of exercises needed to reduce snoring, studies have shown reductions in snoring with regimens of mouth exercises lasting from 8 to 30 minutes, practiced one or more times every day.

How Do Snoring Exercises Work?

Snoring happens when tissues in the upper airway vibrate against each other as a person breathes during sleep. Mouth exercises work by counteracting forces in the mouth and throat that contribute to snoring, like excessive sagging in the soft palate, open-mouth breathing, or a poorly positioned tongue during sleep. 

Mouth exercises can be performed at home, but are often used under the instruction of a speech pathologist or another health care professional. Mouth exercises are considered an accessible, inexpensive, and non-invasive way to reduce snoring.

Although doctors don’t yet know who benefits most from these exercises, experts suggest that consistency may be key.

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Mouth Exercises Using Your Tongue

Many mouth exercises involve engaging muscles of the tongue. These exercises are designed to help reposition the tongue in the mouth. This is helpful because the tongue can fall back towards the throat during sleep, which partially obstructs the airway and increases the likelihood of snoring.

Mouth Exercises Using Your Face Muscles

Exercises for snoring may also target the muscles of the face. The goal of these exercises is to train the muscles that move the lower jaw and make the mouth less likely to fall open during sleep.

Other Mouth Exercises

Other mouth exercises focus on strengthening and retraining muscles in the roof of the mouth and upper airway that can contribute to snoring.

When to See a Doctor About Snoring

While snoring itself can be disruptive to bed partners, sometimes it’s a sign of more severe nighttime breathing issues. For this reason, anyone trying mouth exercises for snoring should also consult with a doctor.

Your doctor may evaluate whether your snoring is a sign of obstructive sleep apnea. Symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea that should prompt a visit to your doctor include:

If snoring is not related to sleep apnea, a doctor may suggest improvements in your sleep hygiene, such as changing your sleep position, quitting smoking, losing weight, and reducing alcohol use prior to bed. Primary treatment options include using an oral appliance or continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.