Exercises to cure/help sleep apnea

Has anybody tried exercises to help their apnea. They look pretty easy. Suck in your cheeks, half a smile, stick out your tongue, breath in like through a straw, hiss out.

They look a lot like the warm up exercises for a singer. Any singers with sleep apnea?

Learning the didgeridoo is actually supposed to help, if you do nothing much else for the next 5 yrs. Those other things are nonsense. And stay away from anything with Buteyko in the name.

The exercise that works, is putting on you XPAP mask and turning on a Correctly set XPAP machine! Jim

Cpapian wrote:Has anybody tried exercises to help their apnea. They look pretty easy. Suck in your cheeks, half a smile, stick out your tongue, breath in like through a straw, hiss out.

They look a lot like the warm up exercises for a singer. Any singers with sleep apnea?

YOU MUST BE KIDDING!

I strongly suspect that some of the tongue and throat exercises may help some apneic patients.

It would depend on the cause, and whether certain throat architecture anomalies can be more normally aligned with the strengthening of certain muscles.

Just a hunch, but I also suspect that apneic patients of normal weight might derive more benefit from the exercises.

It's an interesting possibility, and further investigation is a great idea.

.

Goofproof wrote:The exercise that works, is putting on you XPAP mask and turning on a Correctly set XPAP machine! Jim

I have 100% compliance since starting xPAP and am working on getting my tuning just right. I wasn't suggesting exercises as an either/or situation; more of in addition to. In the past, I have had a number of good experiences with physical therapy and exercises.

I have a flute, tin whistle and a harmonica but no Didgeridoo. Very hard to play, but sounds amazing.

Cpapian wrote:

Goofproof wrote:The exercise that works, is putting on you XPAP mask and turning on a Correctly set XPAP machine! Jim

I have 100% compliance since starting xPAP and am working on getting my tuning just right. I wasn't suggesting exercises as an either/or situation; more of in addition to. In the past, I have had a number of good experiences with physical therapy and exercises.

I have a flute, tin whistle and a harmonica but no Didgeridoo. Very hard to play, but sounds amazing.

The most helpful training you could do, is to do would be practice parking your tongue behind your upper teeth, and sucking a vacuum to hold it in place. This will help train you to block mouth leakage. (It takes time, but works), and makes no noise. Jim

Cpapian wrote:Has anybody tried exercises to help their apnea. They look pretty easy. Suck in your cheeks, half a smile, stick out your tongue, breath in like through a straw, hiss out.

If they worked...big IF there...we would have to do the exercises all the time or things would just sag again and I am betting most people wouldn't continue the work needed.

My OSA came as a free gift from Mother Nature...menopause. Everything started to go south and sag...the boobs, the butt, the belly and finally the tissues in my airway.
Even if they could prove exercising the throat helped...I know me...I wouldn't keep it up. I am too lazy.

Cpapian wrote:

Goofproof wrote:The exercise that works, is putting on you XPAP mask and turning on a Correctly set XPAP machine! Jim

I have 100% compliance since starting xPAP and am working on getting my tuning just right. I wasn't suggesting exercises as an either/or situation; more of in addition to. In the past, I have had a number of good experiences with physical therapy and exercises.

I have a flute, tin whistle and a harmonica but no Didgeridoo. Very hard to play, but sounds amazing.

I had a Didgeridoo once, and yep, very hard to play. I never could play it correctly. But I agree, it sounds amazing!

Pugsy wrote: My OSA came as a free gift from Mother Nature...menopause. Everything started to go south and sag...the boobs, the butt, the belly and finally the tissues in my airway.
Even if they could prove exercising the throat helped...I know me...I wouldn't keep it up. I am too lazy.

I can relate to that!!!

Pugsy wrote:[

My OSA came as a free gift from Mother Nature...menopause. Everything started to go south and sag...the boobs, the butt, the belly and finally the tissues in my airway.

Too funny!

There was another study showing that playing the oboe also helps with OSA.
Funnily enough, they found no such correlation with trumpet players.
Anyway I asked my insurance if they would help pay for oboe lessons and they said nope, no chance. bummer.

Shnorky wrote:There was another study showing that playing the oboe also helps with OSA.
Funnily enough, they found no such correlation with trumpet players.
Anyway I asked my insurance if they would help pay for oboe lessons and they said nope, no chance. bummer.

Awwww. . .

I suggest the "tongue in cheek" exercise.

Here is an interesting article about exercise. Near the end they conclude a good exercise program
usually helps sleep apnea a lot independent of any weight loss. I saw another article where about
12 people with sleep apnea did a 12 week exercise program where the average weight loss over
the 12 weeks was only ~ 1 1/2 lbs. On an average there AHI was reduced by about 35% but of cource
that was on average. One poor subject didn't show any reduction at all but on the other hand one
subject with an AHI of 40 before the exercise program no longer had any apneas.


https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4216726/