Snoring is our bodies way of opening up our airway to get oxygen to our brain and organs. Snoring is a sign that your tongue is not in the right spot and it is affecting your health. This all relates to our tongue position and how our tongue is at rest during the day will also be in the same spot at night. When the tongue is low in the mouth, sitting behind our bottom teeth or between our teeth, it is lacking the correct position. The needs to rest in the palate, top of your mouth. The tongue’s proper position guides growth and development of cranial structures. When the tongue is low in the mouth during the day it will also be there when you sleep. The low tongue position allows it to drop back in the throat blocking the airway. Your body tries to open the airway by grinding, shifting the jaw open to move the tongue. Snoring, gasping for air, coughing all disrupt your sleep causing your body not to get into it’s deep sleep stage.
Your body needs to shut down and reach the deep sleep stage in order for exchanges of blood, nutrients, central nervous fluid to exchange and replenish. If you are unable to get into that stage of sleep your body will suffer through the day. Small things, slowly overtime will take it’s toll on your overall health. Snoring is a sign your brain is being deprived of blood and nutrients. This is NOT healthy for adults, let alone children who suffer from Sleep Disorder Breathing.
Sleep Disorder Breathing in children is overlooked because no one is addressing the true cause. Here are signs to look for:
Abnormal Breathing During Sleep
Bruxism
Frequent Awakenings or Restlessness
Frequent Nightmares
Enuresis (bedwetting)
Difficulty Awakening
Hyperactivity/Behavior Problems/Poor School Performance
Daytime Mouth Breathing
Poor or Irregular Sleep Patterns
Growth Impairment
High Narrow Palate
(Reference: Pediatric Obstructive Sleep Apnea and the Critical Role of Oral-facial Growth: evidences Yu-Shu Huang1 and Christian Guilleminault2*2Sleep Medicine Division, Stanford University, Redwood City, CA, USA.)
Tongue position is NOT in dental providers curriculum. Orofacial Myofunctional Therapist have additional education to identify, refer, treat, and provide the muscle reeducation needed to be successful to function in harmony!
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