Does exercise help sleep apnea?

Exercise definitely helps in case of sleep apnea. Several clinical studies in different medical centres and universities have been done around the world to find out the effectiveness of exercise on sleep apnea. There are different mouth and throat exercises which will help people suffering from this problem to get relief.

One study found that oropharyngeal exercises significantly reduce obstructive sleep apnea severity (OSA) and symptoms and it is a very promising treatment option for people suffering from moderate OSA. Another study found that oropharyngeal exercises are very much effective in reducing objectively measured snoring and it can be a very important treatment of a large population who suffer from snoring.

Who can benefit from sleep apnea exercises?

Anyone with OSA can get benefit from such exercises. It doesn’t depend on your physical abilities. Even if you cannot move or have a mobility issue, even after that you can perform these exercises when you are comfortably seated in a chair. The breathing exercises used for sleep apnea focus on strengthening the airway muscles. The exercise that you need to use will depend on which area in your respiratory system needs attention.

Oropharyngeal exercises can help people who have OSA or snoring disorders resulting from flabby throat tissue or a larger thick tongue. It is also useful for people who have an exercise over 16 inches. It is effective in case of people who breathe with their mouth open when sleeping.

How can oropharyngeal exercises help obstructive sleep apnea?

These exercises are very much helpful in obstructive sleep apnea and so you should try them. These exercises will tone the muscles directly which involve in keeping your airway open. Such muscles include throat, jaw and tongue. However, the type of exercise that you need to do will depend on which area of your mouth is the weakest.

If the throat muscles collapse during sleep, you will need to perform throat exercises for sleep apnea. If the tongue falls back into your throat when asleep, then you will need to focus on tongue exercises important for sleep apnea. If you break through your mouth, you will need buteyko breathing exercise.

The main objective of these exercises is to tone and strengthen the otolaryngologic muscles, which mean the throat, nose and mouth, because these are the muscles responsible for blocking the air passage when they become weak and flaccid. If there are strong and toned, you will automatically get rid of sleep apnea problems.

Types of sleep apnea exercises

There are different types of sleep apnea exercises available depending on the need of the patient. Mouth and throat exercises for sleep apnea, throat exercise for sleep apnea, tongue exercises for sleep apnea, soft palate size for sleep apnea, soft palate blowing, jaw exercise for sleep apnea, singing exercises for sleep apnea, Didgeridoo for sleep apnea, buteyko breathing technique etc. Yoga is also helpful for patients suffering from sleep apnea.

You can create a personalised sleep apnea exercise program to get more advantage. Practising in sleep apnea exercise program is very easy because it is flexible. They do not cost anything and they have no side-effects and their effective. You have different types of exercises to choose from and it is also possible to mix and match different types of exercises depending on your preference. You can choose the right exercises and balance them to ensure that you are not only getting benefit but you are getting the maximum benefit at the shortest duration.

References

1. The Sleep Apnea Exercise Program
2. What Are the Signs and Symptoms of Sleep Apnea?
3. Effects of Upper Airway Muscle Training on OSA