12/11/2020
Low tongue posture can lead to health issues throughout the body. The tongue is an organ that guides the digestive process, and is critical for both neural signals in the brain.
When you swallow incorrectly, it deforms the dental arch. In kids we can see ‘open bites’ or high arched palates that indicate the tongue isn’t making proper connection to the roof of the mouth.
Mouth breathing (even at night), an incorrect tongue resting posture, or an improper swallowing pattern can all contribute to the vagus nerve not being correctly stimulated.
The vagus nerve is one of the primary parasympathetic cranial nerves and drives the digestive system.
Correct swallowing activates rest and digest messages that must begin in the mouth.
During these times, the glands relax and release saliva for digestion, and the body sends hormonal signals reading the body to absorb.
These are the activities that happen when the body is resting and unstressed, particularly after we eat and when we sleep. The sympathetic nervous system on the other hand stimulates the activities that are connected to the fight-or-flight response.
When we breathe through the nose, have the tongue in the roof of the mouth, and swallow correctly, the vagus nerve is being stimulated. But when we don’t, it can lead to low vagus nerve stimulation. This can contribute to the factors that are keeping us stuck in fight-or-flight, or actually put us directly in that state.
If you don’t swallow properly you end up living in a permanent state of stress. This in turn can affect our digestion because after all, digestion isn’t a priority when you’re running for your life. Again, running or fighting is what this whole stress response system is designed for.
How to start strengthening and reconnecting the tongue to the roof of the mouth:
‘Table Top exercises’ are where you hold the entire surface of the tongue to the roof of the mouth. Suction the tongue up and right to the back of the throat and hold the posture here. Hold for 20 seconds and rest and repeat 5 times.
It feels strange, but this is how the tongue should guide the swallow response.
Do you struggle with breathing?
