Summary
In this engaging podcast, John Maher discusses sleep apnea and oral myology with Dr. Nammy Patel, founder of Green Dentistry in San Francisco. Dr. Patel explains how strengthening tongue muscles through simple oral exercises can prevent airway obstruction, a key factor in sleep apnea. Learn about the benefits of exercises like tongue planks, clicks, and "tongue tacos," which can improve muscle tone, reduce symptoms, and enhance sleep quality. Dr. Patel also shares tips for integrating these exercises into daily routines for effective results within days.
John Maher: Hi, I am John Maher and I’m here today with Dr. Nammy Patel, founder of Green Dentistry in San Francisco, California. Helping patients recognize the vital connection between dental health and whole body health. And author of the bestselling books, Age with Style: A Guide to a Youthful Smile and Healthy Living, and Total Wellness: Understanding the Link Between Your Teeth and Your Health. Today our topic is sleep apnea, oral myology, and your airway. Welcome, Dr. Nammy.
Dr. Nammy Patel: Thank you for having me, John. I’m really excited to talk about this.
What is Oral Myology and How Does it Related to Sleep Apnea?
Maher: Yeah. So in terms of, let’s just start here, what is your oral myology and how does that relate to sleep apnea?
Dr. Nammy: Myology is a study of the muscles and when we look at sleep apnea, we’re looking at the functional airway. So we’re looking at the nose, we’re looking at the back of the throat, and then down and part of that is your tongue, which is a muscle. We also have muscles of the pharynx. We have the esophageal muscles, so there’s a lot of muscles that are involved and when it comes to sleep apnea.
So, in sleep apnea, we really like to study these muscles and we sleep apnea actually means is that the tongue is too weak, it actually falls back and blocks your airway. It’s called an obstruction, so that’s why it’s called obstructive sleep apnea. And now that tongue muscle is really important. We want to study it, we want to make sure that it is strong, and that’s what oral myology is about. It’s strengthening that tongue muscle and the muscles surrounding it so we can have good muscle tone for our functional airway.
Exercises to Strengthen Tongue Muscles
Maher: Now when I want to increase muscle, I go to the gym and I lift weights for my arms and my legs and things like that. Are there exercises that you can do to increase the strength of your tongue muscles?
Dr. Nammy: Actually yes, exactly. That’s exactly what we’re talking about is, how do we strengthen that tongue? And the best way to be able to do that is really looking at specific exercises that we can do in order to help make sure that our tone is really strong. Just like with going to the gym, we’re carrying those dumbbells, but we’re going really slow and we can see the muscles develop. Now with the tongue, we can actually see it becomes smaller, which is really interesting, because once we see that the muscle tone is there, we can actually see the size of the tongue actually become smaller and we’re actually able to just like we’re able to lift heavier weights, we’re able to hold certain positions of the tongue, kind of like a tongue plank, I guess I could say that. We can see the tongue actually holds certain positions for a longer period of time.
Oral Myology Exercises for Sleep Apnea
Maher: So, what are some types of oral myology exercises that are beneficial for sleep apnea?
Dr. Nammy: So, the easiest one I like to go through is just really, this is the only time you get to stick your tongue out in anybody. So you get to stick it out as far as you can, and you get to do that about 15 to 20 times. About two minutes is usually what I recommend. And especially with all the oral myology, two minutes is a really good amount of time in order to do this exercise. You can do it driving your car. Imagine sticking your tongue out at somebody if they cut you off, it’s a better way to deal with road rage, I would say. So that’s an easier one. The second one I really love is this one, watch. So we can take the tongue at the tip-
Maher: Clicking your tongue on the roof of your mouth.
Dr. Nammy: Yeah, but what we want to do is slide it back. So as we slide it back, it actually, there’s a muscle here, it’s called, sometimes patients have something called the tongue tie, and that tongue tie is restricting movement. It’s actually a muscle that limits the tongue from falling too bad, but sometimes in certain patients it’s too small. So we actually need to stretch it out so we can actually stretch that muscle out. And what it does is it creates good tone so that it can rest at the roof of the palate like we want it to so when we’re sleeping, it doesn’t fall back and cause that apnea. So those are my two favorite ones that I absolutely enjoy doing. The other one is actually a tongue taco. Imagine that.
Maher: Yeah. Some people call that rolling your tongue.
Dr. Nammy: Yeah.
Maher: You fold it up.
Dr. Nammy: Yeah, just like working our abs out, we do different muscles. We have the muscles in the front and muscles to the side. What the tongue taco does, it gets the side muscles for us too. And as we do those muscles, it’s going to get all these muscles all the way down in the back of our throat, even underneath our chin to be working really well and it’s going to tighten it up. And it does that, like I said, very easily, two minutes a day is what makes a huge difference. These exercises two minutes a day, amazing.
Maher: And do you just do these exercises over and over and over again? Like when you’re sticking your tongue out, you stick it out, hold it for a few seconds, put it back in, stick it out again. And you do that for a couple of minutes?
Dr. Nammy: Yeah, just two minutes, really. Pick your exercise. You can do a tongue taco for two minutes. You can stick your tongue out, you can go have it go side to side.
Maher: Yep.
Dr. Nammy: You can do that. You can do that. Just two minutes a day. It really stretches that muscle out and gets it nice and taut very quickly.
How Long Do Tongue Exercises Take to Work?
Maher: How long does it typically take to see results from oral myology exercises like those for sleep apnea?
Dr. Nammy: I would say easily in a week you’ll notice a difference. If you’re consistent with it, you’ll notice a difference. But by 90 days it’s like a massive difference. That tongue I was talking about really shrinks. In 90 days, you’ll really see a big difference and you really feel the difference inside your mouth because you’ll see, well, you’ll feel the tongue get to the roof of the palate. That’s where we want that tongue to be.
Do Tongue Exercises Help with Sleep Apnea?
Maher: And how does this all help with sleep apnea? It just makes your tongue stronger so that it’s not falling back into your throat while you’re sleeping?
Dr. Nammy: Which is exactly the definition of sleep apnea is that the tongue falls back and obstructs the functional airway.
Side Effects of Oral Myology Exercises
Maher: And are there any potential risks or side effects associated with oral myology exercises or is it all pretty positive?
Dr. Nammy: It’s really positive. The only person I would say be a little wary with is people with Crohn’s disease or with IBS and things like that. If you’re too aggressive, it can trigger your body to be in a fight or flight mode. Versus majority of the patients, it’s not a problem at all. But just with certain patients who may have just a distressed immune system like irritable bowel syndrome or Crohn’s disease. I would just say start with the exercises, but maybe start with 30 seconds and then build your way up to two minutes. Don’t try to do two minutes day one.
Tongue Exercises and irritable Bowel
Maher: Why would exercises for your tongue like that affect something like your irritable bowel?
Dr. Nammy: So, the irritable bowel is actually really interesting, because it actually is a response to the vagus nerve. So when we’re stretching it out, we’re actually, it’s like going to the gym. You’re actually lifting weights, you’re actually getting the body to pump faster and it’s actually your adrenal muscles or adrenal system that’s active versus the rest and digest. If somebody already has a hyperactive bowel, irritable bowel syndrome or something like that, it can trigger it. It can make people go to the bathroom more often and it just kind of takes their system off. Imbalanced really is the right word, and it can just get them a little irritated would be the right word.
Oral Myology Exercises and Sleep Apnea
Maher: Interesting. So sum this up for us. What is it about oral myology exercises that’s going to help people with sleep apnea? Again, what do you recommend?
Dr. Nammy: So, number one, moral myology, super important is the foundation of sleep apnea. Everyone should learn it. I say everyone after the age of 40 really should learn because as we get older, it’s not just about sleep apnea, but it’s also sleep related breathing syndromes. Because as we get older, we get wrinkles on our face, the same thing happens to our tongue, our tongue loses tone. So, two minutes of exercises on a daily basis actually helps tighten the tongue muscles, helps us look younger, feel really great, gets restful sleep, and helps our body restore.
And that’s the main reason I recommend the oral myology. The biggest thing that we all need, whether it’s a sleep related issue or a actual obstruction, is really we want that tongue to rest at the roof of the palate like so when it’s resting at the roof of the palate, it’s not falling back and we’re not opening our mouth to breathe.
We want that tongue at the roof of the mouth, our lips are sealed, we’re getting good air, good nitric oxide through the nose, and that air goes through the nose, through the back of the throat and down. There is no obstruction in the middle spots. And that’s where we’re really looking for is patency. And so that is the reason I recommended simple exercises. Pick one. Sticking your tongue out at somebody is super fun. I usually like this one too. Those are fun. Doing the clicks are super fun. Tongue tacos are really fun. Just something simple and easy that you can do on a daily basis and you’ll notice a difference like I said, within a week. Three days, you’ll really feel it and by a week you’re like, “Whoa, what a big difference.” Especially if you pay attention to it.
Maher: All right, well that’s really great advice, Dr. Nammy. Thanks again for speaking with me today.
Dr. Nammy: Thanks.
Maher: And for more information, you can visit the Green Dentistry website at sfgreendentist.com or call. (415) 433-0119.