6 Jaw Strengthening Exercises That May Reduce Snoring

Why Jaw and Tongue Exercises Reduce Snoring

Snoring occurs when the muscles of the upper airway — particularly the genioglossus (the main tongue muscle), the mylohyoid (the floor of the mouth), and the pharyngeal dilators — lose tone during sleep and allow soft tissues to partially collapse into the airway. Like any skeletal muscle, these respond to progressive resistance training. A landmark 2015 systematic review and meta-analysis by Camacho et al. published in Sleep (Camacho M, et al. “Myofunctional therapy to treat obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis.” Sleep 2015;38(5):669–675) analyzed 9 studies involving 120 patients and found that oropharyngeal exercises reduced the AHI by approximately 50% in adults and reduced snoring intensity significantly. The foundational mechanism was also demonstrated in the 2006 didgeridoo RCT (Puhan MA et al., BMJ 2006;332:1474), which showed that sustained upper airway muscle activation reduces airway collapsibility during sleep.

The six exercises below target the specific muscle groups most responsible for airway collapse. Perform each daily, ideally in two sessions of 5 minutes each, and expect meaningful improvement after 4–8 weeks of consistent practice.

The 6 Clinically Supported Techniques

1. Tongue Slide

Press the tip of your tongue firmly against the roof of your mouth, just behind your upper front teeth. Keeping firm pressure, slowly slide the tongue straight back along the palate until you reach as far back as it will go, then return to the start. This activates the genioglossus along its full length — the same muscle that, when hypotonic, allows the tongue to fall back and obstruct the airway. Perform 20 repetitions, twice daily.

2. Tongue Stretch

Stick your tongue out as far as possible, aiming the tip downward toward your chin. Hold for 10 seconds, then relax. Next, extend the tongue and aim it upward toward your nose. Hold for 10 seconds. Finally, extend and press left, then right. This multi-directional stretch builds the lateral strength of the tongue that standard forward exercises miss. Perform 5 repetitions in each direction.

3. Jaw Jut (Mandibular Protrusion Hold)

Push your lower jaw forward so your lower teeth sit slightly in front of your upper teeth — the same position a mandibular advancement device holds you in during sleep. Hold for 10 seconds, then relax. This activates the lateral pterygoid and digastric muscles that keep the jaw in a forward position. Over time, this exercise trains the muscles to maintain better resting tone, slightly reducing jaw retraction during sleep. Perform 10 repetitions.

4. Balloon Blowing

Take a deep breath through the nose, then exhale slowly through pursed lips into a balloon, inflating it as much as possible in a single breath without re-inhaling through the mouth. This exercise strongly activates the velopharyngeal muscles (soft palate and posterior throat wall) that are responsible for separating the nasal and oral cavities — and that vibrate to produce snoring when flaccid. Perform 5 full exhalations per session.

5. Singing Vowel Repetitions

Produce each vowel sound — A, E, I, O, U — in an exaggerated, forceful manner, holding each for 2–3 seconds. Focus on opening the throat fully and projecting the sound from the back of the mouth rather than the lips. Vowel phonation exercises have been studied specifically for oropharyngeal toning; the sustained vibration activates and fatigues the soft palate and pharyngeal wall muscles in a way that promotes adaptation. Repeat the full vowel sequence 10 times.

6. Chewing Gum (20 Minutes Daily)

This is the most accessible exercise on the list. Chewing sugar-free gum for 20 minutes activates the masseter, temporalis, and mylohyoid muscles in a sustained, rhythmic pattern. The mylohyoid in particular forms the muscular floor of the mouth and supports the tongue — its strengthening contributes directly to reduced tongue prolapse during sleep. Choose a firm gum (not soft or gel varieties) to maximize the muscular workload. This exercise requires no dedicated time block and can be done during work or commuting.

Combining Exercises With a Device

These exercises work on the same anatomical structures as mandibular advancement devices, but through a different mechanism: exercise builds long-term muscle tone over weeks, while a device like the Snorple mouthpiece provides immediate mechanical repositioning of the jaw and tongue on the very first night. The two approaches complement each other well — exercises build the underlying muscle capacity, while the device ensures the airway stays open tonight, before that muscle conditioning has had time to develop. For people with moderate to severe snoring, combining both gives the fastest and most durable results.