Clenching your teeth. A dull headache that starts at your temples. Neck tightness that won’t quit. Sore teeth when you wake up. Clicking when you chew. If any of that sounds familiar, your jaw may be working overtime.
A relaxed jaw exercise is a small set of low-risk moves that helps your jaw muscles soften and return to a neutral “rest” state. Think of it like rebooting a system that’s been stuck at high CPU all day. It won’t fix every cause of jaw pain, and it won’t replace dental care, but it can reduce everyday tension for a lot of people.
In this post, you’ll get a short routine you can do at a desk, in a parked car, or before bed. It’s gentle, it’s practical, and it’s meant to be repeatable.
Safety note: if you have sharp pain, jaw locking, a recent injury, or swelling, pause and get checked by a clinician.
What a “relaxed jaw” really means (and why yours might not be)
A relaxed jaw isn’t “mouth hanging open.” It’s a specific resting setup that keeps the joint and muscles calm.
Here’s the target position:
- Lips together, lightly sealed.
- Teeth slightly apart, no contact.
- Tongue resting on the roof of your mouth, with the tip just behind the top front teeth (not pushing on them).
- Nasal breathing when possible, with the throat and face staying soft.
If that feels strange, you’re not alone. Many people run their jaw like it’s always on standby. The jaw muscles (especially the masseter in your cheeks and the temporalis at your temples) are strong. They respond fast to stress, posture, and habit.
Common reasons the jaw doesn’t “turn off”:
- Stress and focus: when your brain locks onto a task, your jaw often clamps without permission.
- Screen posture: a forward head and jutting chin changes how the jaw tracks, and your muscles compensate.
- Chewing load: gum, tough snacks, or nail biting keeps the system active.
- Sleep position: side sleeping with your jaw pressed into a pillow can push the joint and trigger guarding.
A quick note on the TMJ: the temporomandibular joint is the hinge and sliding joint in front of each ear. It’s built to move smoothly, but it doesn’t love constant pressure. When jaw muscles stay tight, the joint area can get irritated, and your body responds with more tension. It’s a loop.
Use this short checklist to catch tension during the day:
- Are your teeth touching right now?
- Is your tongue pressed hard, or resting light?
- Do your cheeks feel firm, like you’re lightly biting?
- Are your shoulders creeping up?
Catching it early is half the work.
Quick self-check: are you clenching without noticing?
Run these checks in under 15 seconds:
- Tooth contact: are your molars touching, even lightly?
- Tongue pressure: is your tongue pushing hard into the roof of your mouth?
- Temple tightness: do your temples feel sore or “full” when you press gently?
- Square jaw feeling: does your jaw feel wide, braced, or set?
- Breath hold: are you holding your breath while reading or typing?
- Shoulder tension: do your shoulders feel like they’re wearing earrings?
If you found even one, treat it like a notification, not a failure. Reset and move on.
When to stop and get checked out
Stop the routine and get dental or medical advice if you have:
- Jaw locking open or closed
- Numbness in the face or jaw
- Swelling, warmth, fever, or signs of infection
- A broken tooth or sudden tooth pain
- Severe ear pain or drainage
- A sudden bite change (your teeth don’t fit like they did)
- Pain after an accident, fall, or hit to the face
Those signs often need hands-on assessment. Calm, early evaluation beats guessing.
The 5-minute relaxed jaw exercise routine (step-by-step)
This routine is built for control, not intensity. The rule is simple: pain-free only. Mild stretch is fine. Sharp pain, pinching, or rising symptoms means you scale back or stop.
Setup (10 seconds)
Sit tall. Feet flat. Let your shoulders drop. Keep your head stacked over your ribs, not drifting forward. Imagine a string lifting the crown of your head, while your jaw gets permission to be heavy.
Consistency matters more than force. A daily 5 minutes beats a single long session.
Reset position: lips together, teeth apart, tongue up
This is your baseline. If you only do one thing, do this.
- Close your lips gently, like you’re holding a piece of paper in place.
- Separate your teeth by a few millimeters. You’re not opening wide, you’re removing contact.
- Place your tongue on the roof of your mouth. Tip sits just behind the top front teeth, not pressing on them.
Now practice for 20 seconds:
- Inhale slowly through your nose.
- Exhale slowly through your nose.
- On each exhale, check that your molars stay apart.
If nasal breathing is hard due to congestion, breathe through your mouth, but keep the jaw loose and the lips soft.
Massage and release: cheeks, temples, and under the jaw
The goal is to reduce muscle tone, not to “dig out knots.” Use a light, steady pressure.
1) Cheek (masseter) circles, 30 to 45 seconds per side
- Put your fingertips on the thick part of your cheek, halfway between the cheekbone and jawline.
- Clench once gently to feel the muscle, then fully release.
- Make small circles. Keep pressure at a level that feels helpful, not sharp.
2) Temples (temporalis) circles, 20 to 30 seconds
- Place fingertips on your temples.
- Circle slowly while keeping your jaw in the resting position (lips together, teeth apart).
3) Under-jaw sweep, 20 seconds
- With two fingers, sweep from under your chin along the jawline toward the angle of the jaw.
- Use a light glide, like you’re smoothing a wrinkle.
If you have sensitive skin, recent dental work, or facial pain that flares with touch, keep pressure very light or skip massage and move on to the control drills.
Controlled jaw opening: “drop and float” repetitions
This trains smooth motion without triggering a clamp response.
- Keep lips relaxed.
- Let the jaw drop a small amount, then float back up.
- Aim for an opening of 1 to 2 finger widths. If you’re clicky, stay smaller.
Helpful cue: keep your tongue lightly on the roof of your mouth during the movement. It can act like a guide rail, helping the jaw track without drifting.
Do 6 to 10 reps:
- Inhale, prepare (teeth apart).
- Exhale, let the jaw drop slightly.
- Pause 1 second.
- Close gently, without snapping shut.
If clicking increases or you feel a catch, reduce the range. Smooth and quiet is the target.
Side-to-side and forward glide (tiny movements, big payoff)
These are micro-movements that train control. Keep them subtle.
Side-to-side glides, 5 reps each direction
- Start in resting position.
- Move your jaw slightly to the left, then return to center.
- Move slightly to the right, then return to center.
The movement should be small enough that your face looks calm. If your lips stretch or you feel strain, you went too far.
Forward glide, 5 reps
- From center, glide the lower jaw slightly forward, like you’re making a small underbite.
- Return to neutral.
You should not feel pinching in front of the ear. If you do, cut the range in half or skip this piece for now.
Finish with a 30-second breath downshift
This is the “power off” step. Your nervous system drives muscle tone, including in the jaw.
For 30 seconds, repeat:
- Inhale through the nose for 4 seconds
- Exhale for 6 seconds
On each exhale, let your jaw feel heavier, like it’s melting down the sides of your face. Keep teeth apart. If your nose is blocked, breathe through your mouth and keep the exhale slow.
If you want more tools like this for stress and recovery, Andy Nadal’s Blog & Insights has practical posts on breathing and work stress.
Make it stick: simple habits that keep your jaw relaxed
A routine helps, but habits decide what happens the other 23 hours and 55 minutes.
Think in triggers and defaults. Your jaw tightens for a reason. Your job is to catch the trigger and swap in a safer default.
Here are realistic fixes that don’t require a life overhaul:
- Set a baseline: “lips together, teeth apart” becomes your neutral state.
- Reduce load: gum, chewy candy, and tough jerky late at night can keep muscles active.
- Stop using your jaw as a clamp: don’t hold pens, bottle caps, or hairpins in your mouth.
- Unpair focus from clenching: when you concentrate, you should breathe more, not less.
Two simple “if this, then that” rules:
- If you notice your shoulders up, then drop them and separate your teeth.
- If you catch yourself holding your breath, then exhale slowly and soften your tongue.
None of this needs perfection. You’re training a pattern, like correcting posture. Small reps win.
Desk and screen tips that reduce clenching
Desk work is a clenching factory because it mixes focus, screens, and stillness.
- Monitor height: top third of the screen near eye level, so your head doesn’t drift forward.
- Chin position: keep your chin slightly tucked, not jutting toward the screen.
- Don’t rest your chin on your hand: it pushes the jaw and trains uneven loading.
- Micro-resets: every hour, take 20 seconds to reset jaw posture and do one slow exhale.
- External cue: put a small sticky note on your monitor that says “teeth apart.”
If you wear earbuds or a headset, keep it comfortable. A tight band or one-sided pressure can add tension through the side of your face and neck.
Nighttime and stress cues (without overthinking it)
Night is when many people grind or clench without knowing. You can’t “willpower” your way through sleep, but you can reduce inputs.
- Warm compress: 5 to 10 minutes on the cheeks and jaw before bed.
- Avoid chewy foods late: save steak, bagels, and gum for earlier in the day.
- Short wind-down: dim lights, reduce phone time, and do the 30-second breath downshift.
- Talk to a dentist if grinding fits your symptoms (morning jaw fatigue, tooth wear, cracked fillings). A night guard may be appropriate for some people.
Stress cue that works: when you catch your mind racing, scan three spots, jaw, tongue, shoulders. Release one notch. That’s enough.
Conclusion
Jaw tension is common, but it’s not something you have to accept as your normal. The routine is simple: set a true resting position, add light massage, train smooth opening and small glides, then finish with slow exhale breathing. Keep it gentle and consistent, and your muscles usually get the message.
Try the 5-minute relaxed jaw exercise daily for two weeks. Track two or three signals, less clenching, fewer headaches, easier opening, and less morning soreness. Save the routine, share it with someone who grinds, and get professional help if red flags show up or symptoms don’t improve.