nose, Apnea, tongue and Sleep Retraining (NATS) research

The NATS research group is a sub group of the Otorhinolaryngology research group located at Akershus University Hospital campus. Please refer to https://www.med.uio.no/klinmed/forskning/grupper/ore-nese-hals-ahus/index.html for information about the main research group. 

The word «natt» is Norwegian for night. Our research is focused on the development of predictive models for sleep apnea surgery and pre- and postoperative self-management tools. Sleep retraining (SRT) tools focuses on awareness of the senses, bony structures and muscles around the nose and in the palate, the tongue and other muscles involved in the act of swallowing.

The fundament of SRT is daily «valueless self report» and «exercise quality reporting».  -«Valueless self report» focuses on the sensory receptors of the head and neck and «exercise quality reporting» on specific muscles around the nose, in the soft palate and tongue.

  • SRT for performance (SRTp)
    • The effect of SRTp has not yet been scientifically tested.
      • 1: Define exactly what you want to improve (eg. tennis serve in 2x2m square)
      • 2: Measure and log baseline performance on a specific outcome (eg. hits in 2x2m square) and baseline muscle strenght of the tongue and lip. Strength on some NATS muscles can be measured with a digital spoon scale* or by a medical device: https://iopimedical.com/
      • 3: Schedule and log daily valueless self-report and NATS-exercises as described in the book written by dr. Hrubos-Strøm:
      • 4: Measure and log performance on the specific outcome and muscle strenght of the tongue and lip.
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  • SRT for insomnia (SRTi)
    • The effect of SRTi has not yet been tested, but may safely be used alone or as at potentiation of cognitive behavioural therapy for insomnia (CBTi).
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  • SRT for sleep disordered breathing (SRTb)

Words of force (inspired by «Invictus» by William E Heneley)

Out of the sheets that covers me
Black is the night from pole to pole
I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul

*A scientific paper validating the use of digital spoon scales for measuring tongue strenght has been accepted for publication by PLOS one. A link will be provided when the article is published.