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Can Your TONGUE Make You Stronger?

1 Apr 2026 · 1 min

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0:48

In this segment of the YouTube video "Can Your TONGUE Make You Stronger?", the presenter describes a randomized study where participants performed a leg‑extension (knee‑flexion) exercise under three tongue‑position conditions: tongue pressed against the roof of the mouth, tongue resting in the middle of the oral cavity, and tongue low on the floor of the mouth. The order of conditions was randomized for each participant. The results showed that when the tongue was on the roof of the mouth, participants achieved greater range of motion, higher force output, and lifted more weight compared with the other positions. The presenter connects this finding to myofunctional nasal breathing, noting that nitric oxide produced in the nasal passages acts as a vasodilator, potentially enhancing oxygen delivery to working muscles. The overall claim is that proper tongue posture may improve muscular performance, likely via improved breathing mechanics and oxygenation.

Chapters

But one of them is basically they're doing like a leg extension, or maybe it's flexion, I can't remember. Basically moving your leg like this, right? Bending at the knee. And they had patients do it 3 different times and they randomized the order. They had patients do it with their tongue on the roof of the mouth, their tongue kind of hanging out in the middle, and their tongue low in the floor of the mouth. and what they found was like the excursion, the strength and force, the weight they were able to lift, all of that was better with the tongue on the roof of the mouth. So it's very interesting. And when we're also talking about myo, nasal breathing and, you know, nitric oxide that we make in our nose is a vasodilator. It gives us more oxygen to our muscles.