We’ve all heard that proper sitting or standing posture can make all the difference when it comes to reducing back pain.
If you sit hunched over all day, pain usually follows.
But did you know there’s such a thing as tongue posture?
Your spine isn’t the only area of your body where posture matters. Even more surprising – tongue posture, teeth alignment, and breathing patterns can all influence body posture!
For example, poor tongue posture leads to forward head posture.
Your tongue plays a crucial role in your health. Fascia underneath the tongue ties it to the rest of your body.
Fascia is a connective tissue that closely resembles a spider web, acting as a network that provides structural support to muscles, bones, nerves, and organs.
Think of it like a sheet that stretches from the tongue, down the neck, into the chest, hips, and knees.
Therefore, dysfunctional tongue posture and breathing patterns lead to dysfunctional body posture.
When our tongue posture is off, fascia tightens. As a result, forward head posture, slouched shoulders, jaw pain, headaches, and back and hip misalignment follow.
Although mouth breathing and poor tongue posture cause misalignments within the body, the majority of us are chronic mouth breathers.
It typically starts from a young age – recent research revealed that 54 percent of young children are habitual mouth breathers.
Therefore, maintaining and practicing proper tongue posture is key to preventing mouth breathing, forward head posture, back pain, and more.
But what does a proper tongue posture consist of?
The position of our tongue while at rest is proven to affect our oral health as well as the posture of the rest of our body.
Tongue posture wasn’t a problem for humans in ancient times. Historically, our faces used to be wider with a large palette that included more than enough room for the tongue to rest properly.
Over time, our airways narrowed due to our modern diet. Our skulls have shrunk as a result, making proper tongue posture more difficult to achieve.
But what constitutes proper tongue positioning?
According to most myofunctional therapists who specialize in airway health, proper tongue posture includes sealed lips with teeth slightly parted.
The tongue itself should rest against the roof of the mouth at the tip, middle, and back.
This position, sometimes called mewing, is proven to protect teeth, decrease neck and jaw pain, improve forward head posture, and even reduce headaches.
Proper tongue posture from a young age can positively impact the development of cheekbones and facial structure, causing the chin and cheekbones to remain prominent.
Poor tongue posture, however, is thought to cause poor cheekbone and jaw definition, crooked teeth, a narrow face, tired eyes, and more.
While the jury’s still out on whether switching to proper tongue posture in adulthood can reverse the effects of poor tongue posture, many claim they’ve developed a more prominent jaw by adopting a proper tongue posture as an adult.
@somnifix Tongue Posture 101 with Myofunctional Therapist Sarah Hornsby #airwayhealth #healthylifestyle #biohacking #nosebreathing via #youtube ♬ Resonance - Home
If you want to improve your tongue posture, gaining initial awareness of your tongue’s positioning is key.
Is it down on the floor of your mouth or up against the roof?
Using suction, pull your entire tongue flat against the roof of your mouth. Breathe in and out of the nose.
If nasal breathing is difficult, you may be a habitual mouth breather (which is bad news for your airway health and overall health).
Mouth breathing worsens nasal congestion, lowers immunity, and deteriorates our oral health.
When we breathe in air through the mouth, it’s unfiltered and full of dust, pathogens, and germs. That means it irritates our allergies while increasing our chance of illness.
Moreover, it dries out saliva: a key player in protecting the teeth from plaque. Therefore, the chance of cavities skyrocket.
What’s more, mouth breathing leads to poor oxygenation. Mouth breathing is over breathing – and it activates our fight or flight response (which increases stress).
During sleep, mouth breathing not only disrupts our sleep quality – it leads to snoring. When we mouth breathe during sleep, airway tissues collapse and vibrate together.
This not only impacts your sleep and your partner’s sleep: it’s bad for your airway. Our bodies were designed for nasal breathing, not mouth breathing.
Unlike mouth breathing, nasal breathing activates our “rest and digest” response via the parasympathetic nervous system.
While mouth breathing leads to short, shallow breaths that cause poor oxygenation, nasal breathing activates the diaphragm.
Nasal breathing allows for deep, slow breathing and improved oxygen exchange. Moreover, nasal hairs called cilia filter out foreign particles from the air like dust, allergens, and bacteria while the nose adds warmth and moisture to the breath.
This enhanced filtration helps prevent illness and allergies, making the air we breathe easier to absorb.
Since nasal breathing doesn’t dry out saliva, teeth also remain protected from bacteria and plaque.
Furthermore, the nose produces nitric oxide, a vasodilator known to reduce blood pressure, improve circulation, and reduce anxiety.
Since nasal breathing leads to optimal tongue and jaw posture, it may even help to improve body posture.
You can also work on correcting forward head posture while sleeping by nasal breathing during rest. Your sleep quality will thank you, too.
As we’ve learned, tongue posture can make or break the posture of the rest of your body.
When your tongue is trained to rest in the correct position up against the top of your palate with sealed lips, mouth breathing becomes virtually impossible.
With proper tongue placement, nasal breathing is the only available breathing method.
This helps to eliminate jaw and neck pain while correcting forward head posture over time.
Checking in with your breath and tongue placement during the day requires awareness and practice.
But what about when you sleep? Correcting forward head posture while sleeping relies on your ability to nasal breathe throughout the night.
There’s just one problem: you can’t make sure you’re nasal breathing if you’re unconscious.
That’s why mouth tape serves as a simple sleep accessory to ensure proper tongue posture as you rest.
Correcting forward head posture as you sleep is as simple as placing tape across your lips before bed. But that’s not all.
Mouth taping also prevents open-mouth snoring, leading to uninterrupted, quality sleep.
Before you grab any tape, watch out! Most tapes contain chemicals within their adhesives that irritate the skin, leading to rashes and redness.
SomniFix is different. Our strips don’t contain any latex or gluten, making them the perfect hypoallergenic solution for all skin types.
The best part? Our patented central breathing vent provides a backup mouth breathing option that helps you get used to mouth taping during sleep.
Let SomniFix help you work toward correcting forward head posture while sleeping tonight – your sleep quality will thank you in the morning!
If you don't LOVE your sleep in 7 nights, we'll give your money back guaranteed! 🌟
