Adam J., age 14, was being treated for tongue thrust. When he swallowed, his tongue came out between his teeth, causing the upper and lower teeth to stay apart. They couldn’t close together because his tongue was always going between his teeth, every time he swallowed. He already had braces but they had not closed the gaps. The tongue was stronger than the metal. He enrolled in the program, which at the time consisted of twelve weekly sessions. The goal was to help Adam train his tongue to swallow differently, making contact in a different location, so as not to protrude between his teeth.
Swallow differently, strengthen tongue muscles
Since the tongue is made up of muscles, he began by strengthening his tongue muscles, so it would be easier for his tongue to live comfortably inside his mouth. Each week, he was introduced to new tongue exercises, which he had to practice two times daily. Adam was diligent about his exercises. He performed them faithfully, even if he had football practice at his high school.
After two weeks of exercises, Adam returned for Lesson three. His mother asked, “What are you doing to Adam?” I said, “Why, what is wrong?” She said that Adam had always been a very noisy sleeper. He disturbed everyone in the house with his snoring when he slept, even with all of the doors closed. However, now, he was not making a sound when he slept! I looked at Adam and asked him to tell me more. Adam said that his friends never got excited when he was staying over because he kept everyone awake. Adam also told me that he used to always wake up feeling tired and now he wakes up in the morning feeling great. He looked me in the eye and said, “I run faster now.”
Adam definitely had my attention!
Was it possible that the simple exercises I was using for tongue thrust could actually help people stop snoring? Do people who snore keep their tongues in a different position from those who do not snore? Would this tongue exercise/strengthening program help others reduce their snoring also? I was excited about the potentials and decided that I had to find more people who snored and who would be willing to try these simple tongue exercises.
I spent the next eight months sharing the IJustWantToSleep® exercises and helping people change the resting position of their tongue by simply strengthening it and making the new tongue position a habit. I am pleased to report that the IJustWantToSleep® program was indeed a “breath of fresh air” for the participants. The IJustWantToSleep® program does not require that you lose weight, change habits, wear an appliance or have surgery. The great thing is that anyone can do it!
We want to see you succeed by finally getting a good night’s sleep.
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