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Many people tend to snore when they sleep, making it difficult for those around them to catch some shuteye. While it may seem harmless, snoring — the hoarse sound that occurs when breathing is partially obstructed in the throat — if chronic, is considered to be a medical issue; one that needs to be thoroughly analysed to understand the underlying causes.
Agreed Dr Ravi Shekhar Jha, director and head, pulmonology, Fortis Hospitals, Faridabad and said that the anterior part of oral cavity can not cause snoring, but the posterior part, especially the oropharynx — if its diameter is less or if there is any obstruction — the air that is going in will come across an obstruction. “This obstruction will produce sounds that is called snoring. These types of sounds are more vigorous if the patient has any nasal obstruction or nose block since in these situations, we have tendency to breathe through mouth,” he said.
Among other things, snoring can also be a symptom of Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA), a condition in which the upper airways get blocked during sleep, causing apnea or stoppage of breathing. Since there is a loss of muscle tone during sleep, it causes the airway muscles to become floppy and the tongue to fall back. This leads to narrowing of the upper airway during sleep in everybody, but can cause severe constriction among obese people, Dr Vikas Mittal, a pulmonologist, explained.
But, like many other things, there exist certain exercises that claim to help ease snoring issues, one of which was shared by Dr. Sebastien Lomas, a biochemist and biological dentist, on Instagram. No, it is nothing complicated, instead just an easy-to-do exercise involving the oral cavity.
Sharing the exercise, the expert said that it will help you stop snoring. Take a look at his post below.
How to do it?
*Hold your tongue to the roof of the mouth. Suck it and click it.
How many times should you do it?
*30 of them in a day.
How does this tongue-clicking exercise helps?
The louder the click, the better the tongue posture, he said.
Dr Jeenam Shah, chest physician and consultant pulmonologist, Bhatia Hospital Mumbai said that the emphasis should be on treating this condition to reduce snoring. “It is seen that snoring happens due to excessive weight that leads to narrowing of the windpipe,” he said, quickly adding that “such exercises are not proven to stop snoring”.
Agreeding, Dr Amitabh Malik, HOD-ENT Paras Hospitals Gurugram told indianexpress.com that there are no exercises of throat or oral cavity that will help you reduce snoring.
So, what can help avoid snoring?
Dr Vivek Verma, senior consultant, Dept, of Pulmonology, Max Super Specialty Hospital, Dehradun mentioned that toned muscles, especially that of the neck (as a result of exercise) and a healthy diet “can have a beneficial outcome in case of sleep apnea”.
Agreed Dr Malik and said that one needs to make certain lifestyle modifications to manage snoring, such as losing weight, avoiding drinking before bed, treating nasal congestion, preventing sleep deprivation, and avoiding sleeping on the back.
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