How to Reduce Your Tongue Tension – Simple Exercises

November 24, 2022 Ivy Smith

Read Time:5 Minute, 52 Second

Contains our tongue is the autonomic nervous system. Many of us unconsciously hold tension in our tongues, and when we’re under stress, many of us express it by pressing our tongues up against the roof of our mouths.

It’s interesting to note that our tongue is part of our voluntary nervous system. As a result, our tongue acts as a “bridge” between our voluntary and involuntary neurological systems, enabling us to trigger the “deeper” or involuntary nervous system to start relaxing.

Here are some quick methods you can employ whenever you want to consciously regulate your speech and silence the anxious chatter in your head.

Table of Contents

What Is the Correct Tongue Posture?

How should the tongue be positioned correctly, then? Simply put, proper tongue positioning involves gently resting the tongue away from the teeth and on the roof of the mouth.

The positioning of your tongue in your mouth while it is at rest is considered proper tongue posture. In fact, proper tongue posture may be more crucial than you might realize.

Instead of letting your tongue “settle” at the bottom of your mouth, the ideal position is to press it against the roof of your mouth. Additionally, you shouldn’t let your tongue touch the backs of your teeth, as this could eventually lead to issues with how your teeth line up.

Additionally, there may be some advantages to resting your tongue against your hard palate, which is the roof of your mouth located behind your front teeth.

Bad Tongue Positioning: What Is It?

You have poor tongue positioning, your Herndon dentist will tell you, if your tongue rests on the floor of your mouth or close to your teeth. In addition to the issues mentioned above, putting pressure on the back of teeth repeatedly can lead to tooth movement, crowding, and even tooth grinding and decay. A person’s appearance may also change as a result of resting their tongue on the floor of their mouth. It can also lead to increased jaw and neck pain. Don’t hesitate to try something for us. Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth and then slide it to the back of your mouth. Your chin, neck, and head should all noticeably change. Now, over the course of many years, the tongue resting on the lower jaw can result in a longer, flatter face shape or a forward-jutting chin or forehead.

Signs Your Tongue Posture is Causing Problems

Whether or not your cheekbones or face shape is affected by your tongue posture, it is obvious that having an improper tongue posture can lead to a few issues.

Poor tongue posture can also lead to problems including:

Speech impediments
Snoring and sleep apnea
Tooth grinding
Tongue thrust
Mouth breathing

Mouth breathing and sticking out your tongue have the potential to cause additional health issues. Misaligned teeth and speech problems can result from tongue thrust.

How to Fix Bad Tongue Positioning

The good news is that by first becoming more conscious of where your tongue naturally rests, you can work to improve your resting tongue positioning. Focus on consciously shifting your tongue’s position if you notice that it is touching your teeth or falling to the bottom of your mouth. Remember that changing your tongue’s position permanently can take time and practice, so have patience.

Above the vocal folds, the tongue is one of the key sound-shapers. Our ability to boost sound waves produced at the level of the vocal folds is heavily dependent on the space in our throat. This boost gives us strength, precision, and a full tone. Because of the crowding and constriction caused by tongue root tension, your throat won’t have much room to perform that crucial function. When there isn’t enough room, the sound sometimes has to exit through the nose rather than the mouth, producing a flat, nasal sound. When singing, tongue root tension can make it difficult to hit high notes and maintain accurate pitch because it can pull and push your larynx around.

Under Chin Massage

Begin by yawning a few times. After that, gently press upward with your thumb while positioning it under the chin, just behind the jawbone. Imagine the tongue softening as you gently massage the area.

Say a few words and observe what transpires beneath the chin. The tongue will move a little, but it should remain fairly soft. Continue to rub the area under the chin softly but firmly, experiment with making sounds, and maintain a loose tongue. Finally, let out a few yawns.

Stretching

Just behind your lower front teeth, tuck the tip of your tongue in. Smiling softly in surprise, open your mouth. Imagine pulling your tongue out of your mouth with a string attached to the middle of it, leaving the tip behind the lower front teeth.

What Takes Place Following Tongue-Strengthening Exercises?

After performing your tongue-strengthening and other swallowing exercises, you can immediately return to your regular activities.

It’s a smart idea to keep track of each time you perform your swallowing exercises. You should remember to follow the instructions for your exercises after reading this. Additionally, it gives your SLP useful information about your development. Record the exercises you performed along with the times that you performed them. Additionally, make a note of any issues so you can talk to your SLP about them.

As they assess your progress, your SLP and medical team may modify your exercises. Bedside swallowing examinations or other imaging methods, such as fiberoptic swallowing evaluation, may be a part of this monitoring. Your swallowing may improve gradually over a period of weeks.

Your chance of aspirating will go down as your swallowing skills advance. Your SLP might be able to alter your diet and let you resume eating particular foods. Your nutrient intake, general health, and general quality of life can all be improved by doing this.

Conclusion

In these areas, we develop a habit of carrying tension to the point where we are no longer even aware of it. Until we let go of all that tension, we can’t really comprehend how awful it is. A very powerful, beneficial method of releasing tension is laughing. I’ve thus used this chance to share some amusing quotes with you.

*Find More Muscle Relaxation Methods Here!