How to Function on 3 Hours of Sleep: A Stop-Snoring Case Study

Wednesday, September 28, 2022

Amy was a 41-year-old news reporter. She contacted me because she was getting complaints from viewers who said she was too slow and robotic.

Amy’s life: She was working weekends at the TV station and only getting about 3 hours of sleep per night. Amy complained of a severely dry mouth and she was afraid she was going to mispronounce words because of the dryness. Hence, the slow and labored word production.

Amy’s Breathing Affected Her Sleeping

Breathing: Amy admittedly never thought about her breathing. Anytime you only get 3 hours of sleep per night each weekend, you are sleep deprived. Amy was unaware that she was sleeping with her mouth open. She initially said her mouth was closed while sleeping. If it had been closed, her mouth would not have been dry because she wasn’t taking any medications that would cause a dry mouth. I explained to Amy that there could be a very small opening in the corner of her mouth when she was sleeping that provided just enough space for her to breathe through her mouth and be totally unaware of it. Amy was convinced when she remembered that she often had dried saliva on the corner of her mouth when she awoke. That was the key!

Solution: We immediately started the IJustWantTo Correct My Tongue Thrust program that would train her tongue to live on the roof of her mouth while sleeping, forcing her to breathe through her nose. She was also taught a breathing exercise: inhale through the nose as long as you can and then take 20 seconds to exhale that air through your mouth. Amy began doing that right before going on the air. In addition, she was practicing the tongue exercises that were prescribed each week to strengthen her tongue.

How You Can Breathe Easier and Stop Snoring

Results: After one week of exercises, Amy didn’t have a dry mouth. Her TV presentation dramatically changed from slow and labored to a more normal rate and increased level of confidence. She said that she had no idea that breathing through her nose could make such a difference. After 7 weeks of exercises, Amy was a new person. She still only slept 3 hours on the weekend but during those 3 hours, she was able to sleep deeper and feel more refreshed when she awoke. When her dry mouth went away, her confidence soared!

Are you ready to sleep better and breathe easier? IJustWantTo Correct My Tongue Thrust has been helping people put an end to disruptive snoring for years. Give us a call, or visit the store for more information.

Written by: Janet M. Bennett

Janet Bennett, M.Ed., CCC-SLP, is a Speech Pathologist in private practice in Asheville, NC, since 1977. She specializes in treating tongue thrust, a swallowing disorder that can result in buckteeth, an open bite, a lisp, snoring, and other problems that have not yet been made known to most people.