Do oropharyngeal exercises reduce sleepiness in people with sleep apnoea?

Compared with sham therapy, waiting list or standard medical treatment in adults, myofunctional therapy may improve daytime sleepiness and sleep quality in the short term.

Compared with continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) or myofunctional therapy in combination with CPAP, myofunctional therapy alone may result in little to no difference in daytime sleepiness, may increase apnoea–hypopnoea index (AHI) and may result in little to no difference in snoring frequency and snoring intensity.

Compared with respiratory exercises plus nasal dilator strip, myofunctional therapy may result in little to no difference in daytime sleepiness, probably increases sleep quality slightly and may result in little to no difference in AHI.

In children, compared with nasal washing alone, adding myofunctional therapy may result in little to no difference in AHI.