Sleep disorders are frequent and can have serious consequences on patients’ health and quality of life. While some sleep disorders are more challenging to treat, most can be easily managed with adequate interventions. We review the main diagnostic features of 6 major sleep disorders (insomnia, circadian rhythm disorders, sleep-disordered breathing, hypersomnia/narcolepsy, parasomnias, and restless legs syndrome/periodic limb movement disorder) to aid medical practitioners in screening and treating sleep disorders as part of clinical practice.
Muscle weakness within the tongue, mouth, and upper throat may lead to snoring and obstructive sleep apnea. This may be improved with strengthening exercises called myofunctional therapy, especially when used in children. What is myofunctional therapy? What types of facial exercises are involved? Learn how myofunctional therapy may be helpful to improve sleep apnea by strengthening the muscles of the airway.
Myofunctional exercises strengthen the tongue.
They also help to keep the airway open, especially during sleep.
When the muscles of the oropharynx are weak, they may disrupt the flow of air and snoring may ensue. If they let the tube collapse, the airway becomes blocked, such as happens during sleep apnea. Moreover, a weak and floppy tongue may fall back into the throat and create an obstruction.
If you want to improve your sleep, please click here to see different myofunctional therapy exercises.
My son called Ionas and his twin friends, Katerina and Sofia on vacation this summer with me! Ionas knows how to “taping” while I had to teach the girls too to keep lips closed and have a good position to sleep. Katerina has malocclusion and you can see the maxilla expanding. Sofia used to wear brackets because she was breathing through her mouth. The sport they do is synchronised swimming and they did not breastfeed.
