Long tongue sleeping girl

Now, researchers in the Perelman School of Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania have discovered that improvements in sleep apnea symptoms appear to be linked to the reduction of fat in one unexpected body part — the tongue. Using magnetic resonance imaging MRI to measure the effect of weight loss on the upper airway in obese patients, researchers found that reducing tongue fat is a primary factor in lessening the severity of OSA. Twenty-two million Americans suffer from sleep apnea, a serious health condition in which breathing repeatedly stops and starts, causing patients to wake up randomly throughout their sleep cycles. The condition, which is usually marked by loud snoring, can increase your risk for high blood pressure and stroke. While obesity is the primary risk factor for developing sleep apnea, there are other causes, such as having large tonsils or a recessed jaw. CPAP continuous positive airway pressure machines improves sleep apnea in about 75 percent of patients, studies suggest, but for the other 25 percent — those who may have trouble tolerating the machine — alternative treatment options, such as oral appliances or upper airway surgery, are more complicated.

Macroglossia is the medical term for an unusually large tongue. Macroglossia is uncommon, and usually occurs in children. There are many causes. Treatment depends upon the exact cause. Although it may be asymptomatic, symptoms usually are more likely to be present and more severe with larger tongue enlargements. Signs and symptoms include:. A tongue that constantly protrudes from the mouth is vulnerable to drying out, ulceration, infection or even necrosis.

Skip to content. This defect can accompany a number of different congenital or hereditary conditions that include an abnormally large tongue or abnormally small lower jaw. Though there are varying degrees of tongue-based obstructions, all can cause significant breathing and feeding issues. Tongue based obstructions generally occur as a result of a discrepancy between the size of the tongue abnormally large and the size of the lower jaw abnormally small.

Sleep apnea is when a person stops breathing during sleep. It usually happens because something obstructs, or blocks, the upper airway. This is called obstructive sleep apnea AP-nee-uh.