Can Mouth Exercises Help Kids Breathe Better at Night?

If your child still snores, sleeps with their mouth open, or wakes up tired even after having their tonsils out, you are not alone. Many parents expect surgery to settle everything, and for a lot of kids it helps a great deal. For some children, though, a few nighttime breathing concerns stick around afterward.

A study published in October 2026 looked at exactly these kids, and the findings are worth knowing about. Researchers followed children who did simple daily mouth and tongue exercises.

What the study looked at

Researchers followed 80 children between 7 and 9 years old. Every child had already had their tonsils and adenoids removed and an orthodontic expander to widen the upper jaw. Even after both, each child still had some breathing disruption during sleep.

For the next year, 41 of these children did myofunctional therapy: short daily exercises for the tongue, lips, and face, plus regular visits with a therapist. The other 39 children did not do the exercises, mostly because of cost, travel, or trouble keeping up with them.

After 12 months, every child had an overnight sleep study in a lab.

What the researchers reported

The researchers measured breathing disruptions per hour of sleep (called RDI). In the group that did the exercises, the average went from 4.7 per hour to 0.5 per hour after 12 months. In the group that did not, it went from 4.2 per hour to 5.3 per hour.

The researchers point out that families chose whether to do the program, so this was not a randomized trial. Families who could stick with a year of exercises may differ in other ways too. The findings line up with earlier research, and they are a good reason to ask your child's provider whether these exercises might be worth discussing.

Why exercises might matter

Surgery removes extra tissue, and an expander makes more room in the mouth. Neither one teaches the muscles new habits. If a child's tongue usually rests low in the mouth, or they are used to breathing through their mouth, those habits can stay even when there is plenty of space.

Myofunctional exercises practice resting the tongue on the roof of the mouth, keeping the lips closed, and using the muscles of the mouth and face. Researchers think this practice may be part of why some children in studies like this one did well.

The hard part: doing it every day

The exercises only take 10 to 15 minutes a day, but doing them every day for a whole year is tough for any family. Kids get bored, evenings get busy, and it is hard for parents to keep track.

In this study, almost half the families did not do the program. That is the real challenge: helping more kids keep going.

How NURTO helps kids keep going

We built NURTO to make daily mouth exercises feel like play. Kids follow along with guided exercise games on a phone or tablet, and every completed session helps their creature grow and unlock new worlds, which gives kids a reason to come back tomorrow.

For parents, NURTO keeps a simple log of completed practice sessions. Your child's dentist or therapist can suggest which exercise games to use, and you can review and share the activity log with them. NURTO is an educational wellness activity and is not a substitute for professional care.

What you can do next

If your child still snores, breathes through their mouth, or sleeps restlessly after treatment, bring it up with their dentist or doctor. Ask whether myofunctional therapy could be a good fit. You can also find a NURTO provider near you in our directory at /find-providers.

Source: Mahony D, Bhattarai N, Petocz P, Borbély P, Kárpáti K. Orofacial Myofunctional Therapy to Treat Residual Obstructive Sleep Apnoea in Children Treated with Adenotonsillectomy and Maxillary Expansion. J Clin Med. 2026;15:7676.

This article is for general information and is not medical advice. NURTO does not diagnose, treat, or prevent any condition. Always talk with your child's healthcare provider about their care.