Wait... My Tongue Has Been Doing What All These Years?

Most adults don't wake up one morning and think:

"You know what I should investigate today? The resting position of my tongue."

And honestly, fair enough.

We're busy. We have jobs, kids, laundry, emails, and approximately 17 browser tabs open at all times.

But here's something most people don't realize: the way you breathe, swallow, chew, and hold your tongue throughout the day can have a surprisingly large impact on your health and wellness.

A woman sticking her tongue out

Enter the Orofacial Myofunctional Disorder (OMD).

An OMD is a fancy way of saying that the muscles of the mouth, face, tongue, and airway aren't working together as efficiently as they could be. This can show up as mouth breathing, tongue thrust swallowing, jaw tension, teeth-clenching, teeth-grinding, snoring, poor sleep, headaches, neck tension, orthodontic relapse, and even difficulties using CPAP therapy.

In other words, things that many adults assume are just part of getting older.

They're not always.

Your tongue—which is actually an incredibly sophisticated team of eight muscles working together as a muscular hydrostat—has one primary job when you're not eating or talking: hang out on the roof of your mouth.

Simple, right?

Except many adults spend decades with their tongue resting low in their mouth while breathing through their mouth, often without realizing it.

It's a bit like driving around with your parking brake slightly engaged. You'll still get where you're going, but things may not work quite as smoothly as they could.

The problem is that our bodies are remarkably good at adapting.

Poor sleep? You adapt (maybe by drinking 12 cups of coffee a day - 5 Diet Cokes a day if that's your jam).

Jaw tension? You adapt (by seeing an acupuncturist or an osteopath).

Neck pain? You adapt (by seeing a chiropractor or a massage therapist).

Waking up tired despite a full night's sleep? You adapt (by buying new pillows, new mattresses, sleeping separately from your partner, etc).

Sometimes we adapt so well that we forget what feeling truly well is supposed to feel like.

The good news? It's never too late to improve how the muscles of the mouth and face function.

Small changes in breathing patterns, oral rest posture, swallowing, and muscle coordination can have ripple effects throughout the entire body.

Because wellness isn't just about what you eat, how much you exercise, or which supplements are currently trending on social media.

Sometimes it's about what your tongue has been doing for the last 30 years.

And yes, that sentence sounds ridiculous.

But that doesn't make it any less true.

Before You Go...

Where is your tongue right now?

If you had to consciously check, you're not alone.

Most people have no idea.

And that little observation tells us more than you might think.

— Kaylene