Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Snoring and sleep apnea are common breathing problems that include interrupted or shallow breathing during sleep, significantly impacting sleep quality and overall health. While snoring may be mild and seen as a nuisance, it can progress to sleep apnea, a much more serious condition leading to health complications such as cardiovascular issues, fatigue, and cognitive impairment.

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Snoring: Causes and Effects

When the airflow through the mouth and nose is partially obstructed during sleep and the soft tissue in the throat vibrates, snoring occurs. The causes include relaxed throat muscles, mouth breathing, obstructed nasal passages, and poor tongue posture. Snoring can be an indicator of sleep apnea.

Sleep Apnea: Causes and Effects

Breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep during sleep apnea episodes. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type, which is the excessive relaxation of the muscles at the back of the throat, causing a blocked airway. This leads to brief periods of oxygen deprivation, resulting in frequent awakenings, excessive daytime sleepiness, and an increase risk of health problems, such as cardiovascular disease, hypertension, and stroke.

Myofunctional Therapy and Snoring and Sleep Apnea

Myofunctional therapy targets the muscles of the mouth, throat, and tongue to address snoring and sleep apnea by obtaining an open airway. The techniques used in therapy are designed to strength the muscles, improve tone and coordination, and optimize oral and nasal posture.

1. Improving Tongue and Jaw Muscle Tone: Tongue exercises are used to strengthen the muscle, which will improve tone and posture, preventing collapsing backward during sleep. Jaw alignment and function will also be addressed in therapy, reducing the likelihood of snoring and sleep apnea.

2. Encouraging Nasal Breathing: The importance of nasal breathing is emphasized during therapy, reducing the exacerbated symptoms of snoring from mouth breathing and its contribution to airway obstruction. Improved nasal airflow will help address any issues such as nasal congestion.

3. Strengthening the Muscles of the Throat: The muscles of the throat will be addressed in therapy, helping keep the airway open through improving throat tone exercises including the soft palate, uvula, and other structures. Swallowing exercises will also help improve muscle coordination of the throat, keeping the airway open and reducing airway obstruction.

4. Improving Oral Posture: Crucial components of an open airway include proper tongue posture and lip posture, which are two of the main goals of myofunctional therapy. These postures promote nasal breathing and reduce obstructed airways during sleep.

5. Behavioral Training and Awareness: The awareness of oral habits, such as mouth breathing, tongue thrusting, or clenching and grinding will help patients become more conscious of these behaviours and may help improve sleep quality once changes are made.