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Do mouth and tongue exercises reduce snoring? Early studies found about 51% lower snoring intensity

Do mouth and tongue exercises reduce snoring? Adults rated snoring about 51% lower after myofunctional therapy, though most studies had no control group.

Published November 2026

Short answer

Yes, a little, for adults: snoring intensity fell about 51% in before-and-after studies, but most had no control group, and the best trial saw gains only in bed-partner ratings. Not a replacement for CPAP. Evidence grade C (Limited). Pooled before-and-after studies (211 adults) with no control groups plus one randomised trial (125 people) whose benefit appeared on subjective ratings only; downgraded for small total sample and risk of bias.

Key takeaways

  • Across nine studies of 211 adults, snoring intensity on a visual scale fell 51% after myofunctional therapy [1].
  • Those studies compared people before and after treatment, with no untreated comparison group, so the 51% does not prove the exercises caused the change [1].
  • In a 125-person randomised trial, exercises beat finger-coordination exercises on a bed-partner snoring score (2.3 points lower), but sleep-test measures did not differ significantly [2].
  • For sleep apnea, CPAP stays the most effective treatment; exercises are an alternative for people who cannot tolerate it, not a replacement [3][4].
  • The evidence is in adults: in children, controlled trials found no significant change in apnea scores [5].

The short version

Do mouth and tongue exercises reduce snoring? Yes, a little, for adults. When researchers pooled nine studies of these exercises (called myofunctional therapy), adults rated their snoring intensity about 51% lower after the programme than before it [1]. The catch is that those studies compared people with themselves, with no group left untreated, so part of the improvement could be expectation or chance [1].

What the studies show

The big number. A 2018 review pooled nine studies with 211 adults in total. Snoring intensity on a visual scale fell 51% in 80 patients, from 8.2 to 4.0. On the Berlin questionnaire, snoring intensity fell 36% in 34 patients, and the share of the night spent snoring fell 31% in 60 patients [1]. The review compared "before" with "after" in the same people, and the authors concluded that snoring was reduced in adults on both questionnaires and sleep studies [1].

The better-controlled evidence is smaller. A 2025 trial randomly assigned 125 people who snore to six weeks of tongue and mouth exercises or to finger-coordination exercises. Snoring scores rated with the bed partner's input ended up 2.3 points lower in the exercise group. But sleep-test measures, including the snoring index, did not differ significantly between the groups, and older participants seemed to benefit more [2]. In people with sleep apnea, a Cochrane review found that exercises probably reduced snoring intensity slightly compared with sham therapy. Snoring frequency showed little to no effect, and the evidence was very uncertain [4].

What the exercises are. Myofunctional therapy is a mix of exercises for the muscles of the mouth, throat and upper airway, built around speaking, breathing, blowing, sucking, chewing and swallowing [4]. The trials in the Cochrane review lasted two to four months [4].

Sleep apnea: a related but different question

Snoring is a classic sign of obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which breathing repeatedly pauses during sleep [4]. In adults with apnea, a 2024 review of 7 randomised trials (310 people) found that the exercises lowered the apnea-hypopnea index (breathing pauses per hour) by about 10 events and also cut daytime sleepiness compared with sham therapy or no treatment [6].

Even so, CPAP, the breathing machine, stays the standard. A 2026 review of 55 trials found CPAP was the most effective for reducing breathing pauses, while the exercises were a viable option for people who cannot tolerate CPAP [3]. In the Cochrane review's one head-to-head trial, apnea scores were about 9.6 points higher with exercises alone than with CPAP [4]. So the exercises are not a replacement for treating moderate or severe sleep apnea.

The nuances

Adults only. The snoring evidence is all in adults [1]. In children with sleep-disordered breathing, a 2026 review of 8 articles found no statistically significant change in the apnea-hypopnea index in the randomised trials, and concluded that no evidence supports these exercises as first-line treatment [5].

Mostly small and unblinded. The Cochrane review rated the evidence moderate to very low certainty, mainly because assessors of subjective outcomes were not blinded, some data were missing, and the trials were small [4].

Staying power is untested. A review of trials flagged that long-term effects and compliance still need study [6].

Safety. The Cochrane review looked for side effects, but none of its trials reported any data on them, so safety is not well documented [4].

What this means for you

If you are an adult who snores, mouth and tongue exercises are a low-risk thing to try, and the studies suggest snoring may become quieter, though the best trial found the gain in bed-partner ratings rather than on sleep tests [2][1]. If snoring comes with pauses in breathing, gasping or heavy daytime sleepiness, talk to a doctor about sleep apnea rather than relying on exercises [4][3]. See Breathing Exercises and Sleep for related topics, and our Myofunctional Therapy page for the full evidence.

Go deeper

  • Myofunctional Therapy — Mouth and tongue exercises (myofunctional therapy) lowered snoring and sleep-apnea scores in adults in small studies, but most data are uncontrolled before-and…
  • Breathing Exercises — Slow breathing at about 6 to 10 breaths a minute lowers blood pressure a modest amount in pooled trials, and short trials report less anxiety and stress and be…
  • Sleep — Expert panels advise 7 to 9 hours of sleep a night for adults.

References

  1. Oropharyngeal and tongue exercises (myofunctional therapy) for snoring: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol, 2018.
  2. Effects of orolingual myofunctional therapy on snoring-a randomized controlled trial.. Acta Otolaryngol, 2025.
  3. Comparative effectiveness of CPAP and isolated or combined non-invasive therapies for obstructive sleep apnea: A network meta-analysis.. Sleep Med, 2026.
  4. Myofunctional therapy (oropharyngeal exercises) for obstructive sleep apnoea.. Cochrane Database Syst Rev, 2020.
  5. Active strategies for children with obstructive sleep-disordered breathing: a systematic review and meta-analysis.. Sleep Med, 2026.
  6. Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy for Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.. Laryngoscope, 2024.