Did you know that there’s a correct way to rest your tongue in your mouth? We all are familiar with the accepted postures of our body and why they are essential, but what we don’t pay attention to is the placement of our tongue.
Turns out, having a good tongue posture can be beneficial to your health. Moreover, it also has some effects on your jawline and cheekbones. So if you’re curious to know why proper tongue placement matters, how it contributes to your health, and what steps you should take to correct your tongue posture – keep reading!
Proper Tongue Placement
Simply put, proper tongue placement occurs when you gently rest your tongue on the roof of your mouth and away from the teeth. During rest, your lips should also be closed and the teeth slightly parted.
Symptoms Of Incorrect Oral Posture
There are various signs and symptoms that will help you determine if your tongue has an improper posture or not. Once you have identified it, you can dedicate a chunk of your time to improving it.
If you’re suffering from any of the following problems, you have an incorrect tongue posture:
- Mouth breathing
- Pain in shoulders and neck
- Grinding your teeth
- Having a gap in your front teeth
- Not swallowing correctly, i.e., tongue thrusting.
- Snoring at night
Practice Proper Tongue Placement
You must have come across the trendy internet craze some time ago called “mewing”. Mewing is the technique to correct your tongue posture, and it may take some years to master. That’s because resting our tongues on the floor of our mouths is something that we are used to.
To practice proper tongue placement, try to be aware of your tongue’s rest position. If you “mew” for the first time, it will tire you out and feel highly impossible. Your tongue is a muscle, and if you don’t exercise it regularly, it wouldn’t be as effective as it should be.
How To Do Mewing?
Mewing dominated the internet because it claims to give you the jawline you have been dreaming of up till now. Yes, mewing can help realign your teeth, improve your breathing and give you a killer jawline.
Here is the exercise you must do to become used to it whenever you remember your tongue’s posture.
- Firstly, place the tip of your tongue against your hard palate.
- Next, try your best to pull the remaining of your tongue and press it against the roof of your mouth.
- Draw your lips closer and seal them shut.
- Breathe through your nose and carry on with your daily tasks.
It might sound challenging, but if you keep on practising, you’ll surely be able to ace it.
What’s The Importance of a Correct Tongue Posture?
You’d be surprised to know how beneficial it is to have a correct tongue posture.
Many of us were only aware of the benefits of sitting straight or keeping our shoulders back – but we sure did ignore the advantages of proper tongue placement. Our tongue, eyes, and nose are all connected; hence, working on your tongue’s posture can cause numerous benefits.
On the other hand, if your tongue has an improper posture – it can lead to many problems.
1. Sleep Apnea
Improper tongue posture is known to cause sleep apnea and assist snoring. So if you want to sleep peacefully and get rid of snoring, it would be nice to start working on improving your tongue’s posture and placement.
2. Speech Problems
People suffering from articulation disorders can have speech problems. And articulation disorders arise in individuals who have an improper tongue posture.
3. Body Pain
If your tongue doesn’t have a proper posture – you might be subjected to shoulder and neck pain along with recurrent headaches. Why? Because a wrongly placed tongue would cause you to develop a recessed chin and would push your head forward than it should be.
4. Difficulty in Swallowing
Your tongue should mimic a wave-like motion when you swallow something. However, a tongue with improper posture would cause it to thrust forward and backwards when swallowing. This may lead to teeth and jaw malformations which then require orthodontic correction.
5. Vision Problems
Your palate is connected to your eye sockets. If your tongue has a wrong posture, it can cause your palate to change its shape. This will eventually cause the eye sockets to shift from their original position, leading to vision problems.
Conclusion
It’s not easy to change a habit; therefore, correcting your tongue’s posture could take longer than you would imagine. However, once you’re aware of the adverse effects of not having a correct tongue posture – you’d want to change your ways for better overall health.
Make sure to repeat the proper tongue placement exercise whenever you remember about it during the day. Try to notice any changes (although they’ll take time, they will eventually show), and see if they’re proving to be beneficial for you or not.
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