If you’ve ever been told your snoring is keeping your partner awake, you’re not alone. In fact, it was the focus of a recent segment on ITV’s This Morning, where Sleep Scientist Dr Sophie Bostock took live calls from viewers struggling with poor sleep.
One caller, Chris, described years of heavy snoring that had forced him and his partner to sleep in separate rooms. While his GP had ruled out sleep apnoea, the impact of his snoring on their relationship was undeniable.
Dr Bostock explained that snoring often occurs because the muscles around the tongue and throat relax and collapse during sleep. Gravity, especially when lying on the back can pull the jaw backwards, narrowing the airway and amplifying the sound of snoring.
Her advice? Strengthen those airway muscles.
Exercises That Can Help
Dr Bostock highlighted that just as we train muscles at the gym, we can also strengthen the tongue, throat, and airway muscles through targeted exercises. This approach is known as myofunctional therapy (also called oropharyngeal therapy).
Here are some of the most effective exercises that research and our clinical experience at Breathe First show can help reduce snoring:
1. Tongue Lifts
Snoring often worsens when the tongue falls back during sleep. To counter this, sit upright, lips gently closed but teeth slightly apart. Press the entire tongue against the roof of the mouth, especially just behind the front teeth. Hold for 5–10 seconds, breathing through the nose, then relax. Repeat 10 times. Over weeks, this builds strength and retrains the tongue to rest in an airway-friendly position.
2. Lip Seal Strengthening
When lips don’t stay sealed at night, the mouth falls open, encouraging mouth breathing, a big snoring trigger. A simple exercise is the “button pull”: place a small button between your lips (not teeth) on a piece of string or floss, and gently resist as you pull. Holding the button in place with lip strength alone tones the muscles that keep lips closed. Another variation is holding a sheet of paper between your lips for 30 seconds without dropping it.
3. Balloon Blowing
The soft palate and throat walls play a major role in snoring. Balloon blowing helps strengthen these areas. Inhale through your nose, then blow steadily into a balloon, trying to keep your cheeks from puffing out. This builds pressure in the throat and palate, training them to stay firmer and less likely to collapse.
4. Nasal Breathing Practice
Snoring is closely tied to mouth breathing. Practising nasal breathing during the day makes it easier at night. Try alternate nostril breathing: gently close one nostril, inhale through the other, then switch. Even two minutes daily helps condition your body to rely on nasal breathing, which reduces turbulence and vibration.
5. Humming
A calming exercise that doubles as airway training. Take a breath in through your nose, then hum as you exhale. The vibration strengthens the soft palate and encourages nitric oxide release in the nasal passages — a natural supporter of airway health. Over time, this can reduce the “floppy palate” effect that drives snoring.
Together, these exercises target the tongue, lips, and throat, the same structures that weaken during sleep and contribute to snoring.
The Myo-Nozzle: Turning Daily Drinking Into Therapy
While exercises are highly effective, the biggest challenge for most people is consistency. Doing them once or twice a day helps, but real change comes from hundreds of repetitions over weeks and months. That’s where the REMplenish™ Myo-Nozzle makes such a difference.
The Myo-Nozzle is a simple, clinically-designed drinking tool that transforms every sip of water into an exercise. It attaches to a straw and requires you to drink in a way that:
- Presses the tongue against the palate
- Seals the lips to maintain suction
- Engages throat and swallowing muscles
In other words, it replicates the very patterns myofunctional therapy is designed to teach.
Because hydration is already a daily habit, using the Myo-Nozzle means you can get dozens even hundreds of mini “reps” throughout the day without needing to schedule formal exercise sessions. Over time, this builds strength, endurance, and better resting posture automatically.
The nozzle comes in two resistance levels:
- Level 1 – for beginners, to master tongue-up posture and lip seal
- Level 2 – for more advanced resistance once technique is established
Clients often report that this simple shift makes it much easier to stay consistent, and progress comes faster compared to exercises alone.
Other Options
For those whose snoring is linked to jaw position, Dr Bostock also mentioned mandibular advancement devices (a type of dental splint) and chin straps as possible aids. These reposition the jaw forward to prevent airway narrowing.
Why This Matters
Snoring isn’t always “just snoring.” While Chris had ruled out obstructive sleep apnoea – a condition where breathing repeatedly stops during sleep – the social and emotional impact of snoring can still be profound. It disrupts partners’ rest, strains relationships, and leads many couples to sleep apart.
The good news is that solutions exist, and myofunctional therapy is increasingly recognised by sleep experts as a safe, evidence-based option.
What is Myofunctional Therapy?
At Breathe First, we specialise in myofunctional therapy: a structured programme of tongue, lip, and throat exercises designed to strengthen the airway and support healthier breathing patterns.
For many, this natural, non-invasive approach helps to:
- Reduce or eliminate snoring
- Improve sleep quality
- Support better overall airway health
For those looking to make therapy even more practical and effective, the Myo-Nozzle offers a way to embed exercises seamlessly into your day, strengthening the muscles that matter every time you take a drink.
If you’ve been inspired by what you saw on This Morning and want to learn more about whether myofunctional therapy could help with your snoring, book a consultation with Breathe First today.
