There are a variety of issues that can come up when trying to train yourself to adopt proper tongue posture, also known as mewing. Although mewing may even be uncomfortable at first, the body luckily has the capacity to adapt and change over time. Mewing will only get easier the more you do it.
However, since there’s been so many questions about various mewing problems, I wanted to cover each of them in detail.
It Hurts When I Mew
Don’t panic! You are probably applying too much force to the roof of your mouth with your tongue. If you are just starting and find the pressure on the roof of your mouth hurting you, then consider not being so forceful.
Over time, your palate will expand and any discomfort you feel now should subside. It is expected that you should feel some discomfort when you start (because it’s something new), but mewing should not be painful.
Mewing Gives Me a Headache
Just like before, if mewing is giving you a headache, it’s probably because you’re pressing too hard with your tongue. Remember that mewing isn’t about forcing your tongue against the palate as hard as you can — it’s about maintaining proper oral posture over a long period of time.
If you’re positive that you want to practice hard mewing, which is where you purposefully force the tongue up against the palate, there’s not a lot you can do about headaches. All I can suggest is that you continue practicing and hope the headaches subside with time.
My Tongue Gets Tired
Most people who start mewing for the first time feel their tongues get tired. Oftentimes, they are unable to maintain a proper tongue posture throughout the day. However, this is only temporary. The tongue, like any other muscle, will eventually get used to the proper posture technique in time. It gets stronger the more you mew. You are, in effect, training your tongue muscle as well as your mind.
Although you may find your tongue get tired initially from mewing, this is only temporary. It will only get easier as mewing begins to feel more and more natural. As mewing becomes muscle memory, your will notice your tongue get more resilient.
My Tongue Can’t Fit on the Roof of My Mouth
Your tongue is supposed to fit snugly between your molars on the roof of your mouth. However, some people have complained of their palates being too small. This is a common problem which emerges from having incorrect oral posture for too many years, especially during childhood: the palate ends up being much smaller than normal.
If you happen to be unable to fit your tongue on the roof of your mouth, you likely have a smaller palate than normal. It is likely a consequence of eating too many soft foods or mouth breathing in many cases. However, there’s good news: this can luckily be corrected with mewing.
One of the benefits of mewing is that it expands the palate as your tongue applies pressure every time you swallow. Over time, your palate will expand to a normal width, as it should be.
Make sure you are mewing correctly and, over time, you will begin to see your palate expand. Eventually, your entire tongue will fit on the roof of your mouth. It may take a few months for you to see noticeable results.
I Can’t Mew and Sleep
It is impossible expect to be able to maintain proper tongue posture while sleeping initially. Your body needs to first consider mewing like muscle memory for this to be possible.
It may be frustrating because this is not something you can control. Tongue posture when sleeping is just plain muscle memory. However, in time you will find that once mewing becomes unconscious, then this will no longer be an issue.
Once you begin to notice that you are waking up with your tongue on the roof of your mouth, then you know you have internalized mewing correctly.
My Teeth Are Grinding
The reason your teeth are grinding while mewing is because your jaw is too weak and cannot keep your teeth apart. The imbalance in your muscles of mastication is responsible for your teeth grinding.
By applying force to the palate by mewing, your tongue and the rest of your jaw muscles will gain strength. Mewing will greatly diminish teeth grinding if done correctly.
My Teeth Can’t Touch Each Other When My Mouth Is Relaxed
Again, if your teeth are grinding are too far apart where they don’t touch, there is an imbalance with your muscles of mastication. Your tongue, in this case, is stronger than your jaw which leaves your mouth naturally agape.
Eat harder foods and consider chewing mastic gum, along with proper oral posture, to correct this issue.
I Can’t Lift My Tongue That High
You are likely suffering from something called tongue tie. This means that the bottom of your tongue is too attached to the floor of our mouth. In extreme cases of tongue tie, the tongue cannot even be moved at all.
Just because you cannot get your tongue on your palate does not mean you have tongue tie, however. Tongue tie is when you physically cannot, in any way, move your tongue to the roof of your mouth. Discomfort is not tongue tie (just keep mewing and this discomfort will go away).
If you suspect you actually have tongue tie, a simple oral surgery can correct this problem. Speak to your dentist.
Mewing Is Making My Face Worse
Because mewing applies force to the palate, it cannot move your mandible (lower jaw) forward as much. Many have complained that mewing actually made their overbites worse.Thus, if you suffer from an overbite, it would be smart to correct it through a night-time retainer and mewing instead of just mewing.
Incorrectly mewing can also lead to issues. For example, if the tongue is not fully applied to the roof of your mouth, then the force of the tongue is applied inconsistently. You must keep your mouth in balance which means paying close attention to make sure you’re mewing correctly. Once you get the hang of it, you won’t need to monitor your tongue as much.
Do you have other mewing problems or issues? Have you experienced discomfort while mewing? Let me know about your own experiences mewing in the comments below. I’d love to hear your thoughts.