If you or your child struggles with breathing through the nose, speech clarity, jaw pain, or sleep issues, myofunctional exercises could be a life-changing discovery. These gentle, focused movements target the muscles of the tongue, face, and throat. While they may seem simple, research shows they have profound effects—from improving breathing and facial symmetry to aiding speech and preventing orthodontic relapse. We’ll walk you through what myofunctional exercises are, the science behind them, and how to get started.
What are myofunctional exercises?
Myofunctional exercises are specialised movements and routines that strengthen and retrain the muscles of the face, tongue, lips, and throat. They’re often prescribed to correct dysfunctional habits like mouth breathing, tongue thrusting, or low tongue posture.
These exercises are a core part of orofacial myofunctional therapy (OMT), which focuses on correcting the way we breathe, speak, chew, and swallow. Unlike general physical therapy, these movements are targeted at very specific orofacial muscles that are easy to overlook but critical for healthy breathing and function.
Quick Look: Sample Myofunctional Exercises You Can Try at Home
These simple exercises are a great starting point for both kids and adults. Each one targets key muscles involved in breathing, swallowing, and oral posture. For detailed step-by-step guidance and variations, scroll down to the full descriptions below.
- Tongue Lifts to the Roof of the Mouth – Press the entire tongue (not just the tip) against the roof of the mouth behind the upper teeth. Hold for 5–10 seconds.
- Button Pull – Hold a button between the lips (not teeth) using a string, then gently pull for resistance.
- Lip Seal Holds – Hold a piece of paper or light object between the lips (without using teeth) for 30 seconds to 1 minute.
- Balloon Blowing (Cheek Puff Resistance) – Blow into a balloon or puff cheeks and press against them with fingers to create resistance.
- Nasal Breathing Training – Block one nostril and breathe slowly through the other; switch sides.
- Humming Breath Exercise – Inhale through the nose, then hum during the exhale to engage the soft palate.
🔍 Need more help? Scroll down for full instructions, tips, and benefits for each exercise.
These exercises are most effective when done consistently and under the guidance of a trained myofunctional therapist. Each movement targets specific muscles and functions, contributing to healthier breathing, speaking, and facial development patterns.
Why they matter: the science of function
To understand how these exercises help, we need to understand the role of orofacial muscles. These small but mighty muscles help us breathe, speak, chew, and swallow. If they’re weak or out of balance, it can cause a cascade of issues.
For example, a low tongue posture (when your tongue rests on the bottom of your mouth) can narrow your airway and contribute to mouth breathing and sleep-disordered breathing. Mouth breathing, in turn, can alter facial growth in children, reduce oxygen intake, and even affect behaviour.
When these muscles are retrained through myofunctional exercises, it helps restore proper function:
- Improved nasal breathing and airway openness: A strong and well-positioned tongue supports the palate and keeps the nasal passages clear.
- More efficient swallowing and speech: Correct muscle use prevents tongue thrust and supports articulation.
- Facial balance and tone: Balanced muscle activity leads to more symmetrical facial development.
- Better posture, especially of the head and neck: Myofunctional therapy often influences head posture due to the close relationship between the tongue and cervical spine.
Key benefits backed by science
1. Facial function and rejuvenation
A systematic review found that myofunctional therapy can enhance facial tone, rejuvenate appearance, and improve orofacial function (https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk9020099). Patients reported improved skin tone, tighter muscles around the mouth and jawline, and better facial symmetry. This makes myofunctional exercises a useful tool for natural facial rehabilitation in both clinical and aesthetic contexts.
2. Tongue thrust correction
Tongue thrust is a habit where the tongue pushes forward during swallowing. Over time, it can lead to speech issues, open bite, or relapse after orthodontic treatment. Myofunctional therapy helps eliminate this habit by retraining the swallowing reflex and strengthening the tongue (https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10005-1926). For more on this, see our article on how myofunctional therapy helps correct mouth breathing.
3. Sleep-disordered breathing and upper airway health
Exercises that target the oropharyngeal muscles help tone the throat and tongue, keeping the airway open during sleep. This can reduce snoring and symptoms of sleep apnoea. One study confirmed that oropharyngeal exercises cause structural changes in the upper airway, which supports breathing improvements (https://doi.org/10.1111/ocr.12912). Explore more on sleep-disordered breathing.
4. Post-operative recovery and tongue-tie rehab
After a frenectomy (tongue-tie release), targeted exercises are essential to ensure proper healing and prevent the reattachment of the tissue. These movements promote flexibility, restore full mobility, and support functional integration of the tongue’s new range. Internal support: manual therapy for voice, swallowing, and TMJ.
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What makes these exercises more effective?
Proprioceptive feedback
Proprioceptive feedback is your body’s awareness of where it is in space. Using mirrors, resistance tools, or therapist guidance can help you activate muscles more precisely. Studies show proprioceptive exercises improve movement control and balance in older adults (https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.70885). Applying this concept to orofacial muscles means better results with each session.
Genetics and personalised results
Not everyone responds to exercises in the same way. Research suggests that certain genes influence how effectively someone builds strength and muscle tone through exercise (https://doi.org/10.31718/2077-1096.24.3.261). This underlines the importance of personalised programmes in myofunctional therapy.
Psychological and behavioural factors
Consistency is the biggest predictor of success in therapy. Studies confirm that social support and self-monitoring lead to better treatment adherence (https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.23.2.207).
To help patients stay on track:
- Set reminders to build the exercises into daily routines
- Use a habit tracker or progress journal
- Create a shared parent-child routine
- Involve the whole family when possible
Conditions that benefit from myofunctional exercises
Mouth breathing
Myofunctional therapy retrains the lips and tongue to stay sealed and in proper posture. This encourages nasal breathing and prevents the long-term consequences of chronic mouth breathing in children and adults. Learn more in our guide to mouth breathing in children.
Sleep-disordered breathing
Low tongue tone can collapse the airway during sleep. Exercises that strengthen the tongue and soft palate help reduce snoring and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea. For more, visit our article on sleep-disordered breathing.
TMJ disorders and jaw pain
When facial muscles are unbalanced or weak, it places extra strain on the temporomandibular joint. Myofunctional exercises reduce tension, realign the jaw, and support recovery. Discover more in our TMJ therapy guide.
Speech delays or unclear articulation
The tongue and lips must move precisely for clear speech. These exercises improve motor control, endurance, and awareness—leading to clearer, more confident speech. See how tongue posture affects speech.
Orthodontic stability
Myofunctional therapy ensures the tongue doesn’t push on the teeth and maintains its correct posture, which protects against orthodontic relapse.
Myofunctional exercises: kids vs adults
Myofunctional therapy can be tailored for individuals across all ages, but the approach, expectations, and results vary between children and adults. Understanding these differences is essential for setting realistic goals and ensuring effective outcomes.
Children
- Engage better with playful and interactive formats: Children typically respond well to games, songs, and visual tools that make therapy fun and engaging. Incorporating toys, mirrors, or character-based storylines into exercises can boost participation.
- Early intervention yields lifelong benefits: Myofunctional issues caught and treated early can guide proper facial growth, ensure correct tongue posture, and reduce the risk of orthodontic and airway problems later on.
- Parental involvement is crucial: For children, consistency often depends on parental guidance. Parents play a key role in reinforcing routines, providing reminders, and encouraging practice at home.
- Prevention-focused: In many cases, therapy for children prevents more complex problems down the road, such as speech difficulties, sleep disturbances, or facial development issues.
Adults
- Require more awareness and habit-breaking: Adults often come into therapy with years of ingrained patterns like mouth breathing, poor posture, or jaw tension. Therapy focuses not only on exercises but also on increasing body awareness to replace these habits.
- Motivated by specific symptoms: Adults usually seek therapy for relief from issues like TMJ pain, snoring, sleep apnoea, or facial aesthetics. This motivation often leads to strong commitment to treatment.
- Need highly individualised plans: Adults may need a combination of myofunctional therapy, physical therapy, or manual therapy. Their exercises are often more complex and require self-discipline and long-term follow-up.
- See functional and aesthetic benefits: Improved sleep, posture, and breathing can be life-changing. Adults also appreciate the enhanced facial tone and symmetry that come from regular practice.
In both age groups, therapy can have transformative effects—boosting function, comfort, and confidence. The key is adapting the exercises to the developmental stage and lifestyle of the individual.
Exercises you can try at home
1. Tongue lifts to the roof of the mouth
Start by sitting upright with your lips gently closed and your teeth slightly apart. Then, gently press the entire surface of your tongue up against the roof of your mouth. Focus on making contact not just with the tip of the tongue, but also the middle and back portions. The correct spot is just behind your upper front teeth—avoid pressing directly on the teeth. Hold the tongue in this position for 5–10 seconds while breathing through your nose. Repeat 10 times. This exercise helps train your tongue to rest in the ideal position when not speaking or eating. It improves tongue posture, strengthens the deep muscles within the tongue (called intrinsic muscles), supports better nasal breathing, and helps maintain an open airway.
2. Button pull
Cut a length of dental floss and thread it through a small button. Place the button between your lips (not your teeth) and gently hold it in place by closing your lips firmly. Then, pull lightly on the string, creating resistance, while keeping the button in place using only your lip muscles. Hold the tension for 5–10 seconds and repeat 5–10 times. This strengthens the circular muscles around the mouth (called the orbicularis oris) that help you keep your lips sealed comfortably, especially useful for children who mouth breathe or adults with poor lip tone.
3. Lip seal holds
With the mouth closed and lips relaxed, hold a light object (such as a piece of paper) between the lips without using the teeth. Hold for 30 seconds to 1 minute. This strengthens the lip muscles and promotes habitual closed-mouth posture, particularly important for those with open-mouth posture or daytime mouth breathing.
4. Balloon blowing (Cheek puff resistance)
Take a deep nasal breath, place your lips securely around the neck of a balloon, and blow into it until it starts to inflate. Focus on using your diaphragm and not puffing your cheeks. Pause, take another nasal breath, and repeat. This builds nasal strength, promotes diaphragmatic breathing, and improves soft palate tone. For younger children, you can simplify this by using party blowers or bubbles, which achieve similar engagement of the oral muscles., then press gently on each cheek with your fingers while resisting the pressure. This improves buccinator muscle tone and aids oral motor control, which supports clearer speech and better bolus control during chewing and swallowing.
5. Nasal breathing training
Gently close one nostril with a finger and breathe slowly and deeply through the other nostril. Hold for 5–10 seconds, then switch nostrils. Repeat for 1–2 minutes a few times a day. This clears nasal passages, strengthens nasal airflow muscles, and encourages a long-term shift away from mouth breathing.
6. Humming breath exercise
Take a deep breath through your nose and hum on the exhale. This helps tone the soft palate and calms the nervous system. Take a deep breath through your nose and hum on the exhale. This helps tone the soft palate and calms the nervous system.
For enhanced results, combine these with tools like Myotape for nasal breathing and explore calming practices like humming therapy.
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Frequently asked questions
What are myofunctional exercises used for?
Myofunctional exercises help strengthen the tongue, lips, and facial muscles to improve breathing, speech, sleep, and swallowing. They are also used to correct habits like mouth breathing, tongue thrusting, and poor tongue posture.
Can children do these exercises?
Yes! These exercises are safe and effective for children when prescribed by a trained professional. They’re often included in treatment plans for speech delays, mouth breathing, thumb-sucking, and orthodontic concerns. Children tend to benefit the most from early intervention, particularly before permanent teeth come in.
How long does it take to see results?
Most people start to notice improvements within 4 to 6 weeks, but long-term change usually requires 3 to 6 months of consistent practice. Results vary depending on the individual’s age, adherence, and underlying conditions.
Are these exercises a substitute for surgery or orthodontics?
Not necessarily. While myofunctional therapy supports better outcomes, it often complements—not replaces—orthodontic or surgical treatments. For instance, post-frenectomy exercises ensure long-term success by preventing reattachment.
How do I know if my child needs myofunctional therapy?
Look out for signs like chronic mouth breathing, open-mouth posture, tongue resting on the bottom of the mouth, speech difficulties, frequent drooling, snoring, or restless sleep. If any of these are present, it’s worth scheduling an assessment.
Can adults benefit from myofunctional therapy too?
Absolutely. Adults often use myofunctional therapy to improve sleep quality, alleviate TMJ pain, reduce snoring, enhance facial tone, and improve speech clarity. It’s never too late to start.
Do I need to work with a professional?
Yes. While some exercises can be done at home, a qualified myofunctional therapist will provide a personalised plan and track progress. They also ensure exercises are done correctly for optimal benefit.
How often should I do the myofunctional therapy exercises?
Most programmes recommend 5–15 minutes of exercises, one to two times a day. It’s consistency that matters more than intensity.
References
- Levrini L. et al. (2024). “Myofunctional Speech Therapy for Facial Rejuvenation and Orofacial Function Improvement” – https://doi.org/10.3390/jfmk9020099
- Shah S. et al. (2021). “Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy in Tongue Thrust Habit: A Narrative Review” – https://doi.org/10.5005/jp-journals-10005-1926
- Silva A. et al. (2025). “Upper Airway Morphofunctional Changes During Oropharyngeal Exercises” – https://doi.org/10.1111/ocr.12912
- Fraga B. et al. (2017). “Efficacy of Myofunctional Therapy Associated with Voice Therapy” – https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0037-1605597
- Sobhani V. et al. (2024). “Impact of Proprioceptive Exercises on Pain, Balance, and Fall Risk” – https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.70885
- Kitajima S. et al. (2024). “Genetics of Muscle Strength Gains” – https://doi.org/10.31718/2077-1096.24.3.261
- DiMatteo M. (2004). “Social Support and Patient Adherence to Medical Treatment” – https://doi.org/10.1037/0278-6133.23.2.207
