Have sleep issues? You are not alone. According to the CDC, approximately 70 million Americans suffer from chronic sleeping issues.
Sleeping issues, over time, can lead to long-term illnesses, both physical and mental. I’ve talked for weeks about the problems that disturbances in sleep can cause. Last week I started to talk about some of the issues that we often don’t talk about in public arenas (like snoring). If you’re someone who drools in their sleep, or you find it hard to make that early morning class, this is your article!
Saliva is normal! We produce it all day every day, and while most people produce more during the day as a mechanism to lubricate our mouths and throats, the continued production at night makes drooling possible. When you over-produce at night you can wake up to a puddle around you. While puddles may be embarrassing, there may be other unintended outcomes like chapped lips and mouths, bad breath, and dehydration. Sometimes your sleeping position alone can cause the puddle, while other times it is a result of a medical condition. Allergies, illnesses, and conditions such as bruxism (AKA teeth-grinding) and sleep apnea can contribute as well.
Here is a list of items to check/do if you are wanting to tackle a drooling issue:
- Check your sleeping position. People who sleep on their sides or stomachs tend to drool more often. When you sleep on your back gravity tends to take care of saliva for you. If you’d like to change your position it is much easier with the right tools. If you are more familiar with sleeping on your side of your stomach, propping pillows around yourself may help you to stay on your back. If you are a side sleeper who would like to stay on your side, try using a firmer pillow. Supporting your neck more may help you to drool a tad less. If you already have a firm pillow and would like to try sleeping on your back, understand that back sleepers require a less firm pillow, and you may want a less firm pillow to ease the transition. Stomach sleepers, if you are used to a very small pillow, or no pillow at all, take the above into consideration.
- Try a mandibular device. Just as I have said before, mandibular devices help to treat a variety of issues such as teeth grinding and snoring. They help to set your jaw and teeth in alignment. They also help you to keep your jaw aligned in a way so that you can close your mouth, keeping your lips “sealed” and positioning your tongue in a way that will help you to drool less. If your mouth is closer to being closed, you are less likely to drool.
- Treat your allergies, or like illnesses. If your sinuses are bothering you near bedtime, consider treating those to clear/open up your nasal cavity. If you can breathe through your nose and not your mouth, you are less likely to salivate and drool!
- Try mouth tape. It is a thing! You may feel silly wearing it, but research does show it has benefits aside from drool prevention. Mouth tape helps you to breathe through your nose. This keeps harmful dust and allergens out of your mouth, prevents tooth decay, and decreases other embarrassing sleep issues such as bad breath, snoring, and sleep talking!
- When in doubt, talk to your doctor! There are other solutions to drooling, especially if you think you may have excessive salivation. Other popular methods of treatment include Botox injections (which must be repeated every few months), speech therapy, and sleep apnea treatment (we have discussed this before). Additionally, in extreme cases, prescription medications and surgery can be considered.
- If you’ve mastered restless sleep, snoring, and/or drooling, you may get a good night’s sleep… so good that you may not want to get out of bed. Aside from having sleep issues, some people struggle just to wake up (I slowly raise my hand). The key to this is getting to bed earlier. The old expression “early to bed, early to rise” is based in truth. Resetting your sleep schedule is another important gem that can come in handy for readers. Not only can this help those of you trying to be up for an early exam, but it can be useful for those of you who may need to transition in or out of shift work.
If this sounds like you, here are some tips:
- Create a set time to go to bed and wake up. Ensure you have ample time to sleep (seven to nine hours). Stick to this schedule even on the weekends.
- Adjust this schedule from your current schedule in 15–20-minute increments over time (every couple of days) so your body can slowly adjust to your new sleep and wake times. If you find this hard, you can focus first on the wake time, that tends to be easier for most.
- Try to align as closely to day and night as you can. This will make waking easier.
- Get as much sunlight as possible. You can also try light therapy, which is best done in the morning. You can research more about this, and best practices, here.
- Skip artificial lights, including screentime, at night. That means no TV or phone in the hour before bedtime.
- Set the mood with a cozy sleep environment. This one keeps coming up! A great place to sleep is dark, quiet, and cool.
- Limit (or better yet, eliminate) alcohol, tobacco, and caffeine.
- Avoid naps (or just be very careful with them). See previous articles on the danger of these and their impact on deep sleep/REM cycles.
- Create a bedtime routine. You can include a bath, aromatherapy, meditation, or a light snack.
Speaking of snacks, here is a list of foods that are great for bedtime (this also checks off that pesky “How do I deal with a stomach that decides to growl at bedtime?” issue):
- Banana with almond butter: bananas have potassium, which aids in sleep!
- Other fruits (stick to the ones lower in sugar): tart cherries actually contain melatonin! Other fruits that are great for bedtime include pineapple and oranges.
- Nuts and seeds: pistachios and pumpkins seeds both contain tryptophan!
- Yogurt: calcium has shown to lead to deeper and more restorative sleep!
- Oatmeal: this hearty snack contains magnesium and melatonin, which will keep you full and help you drift off peacefully!
Hopefully these tips and tricks will send you off to dreamland. As I have said in the other articles, please see your physician if you plan to change your diet or medication, or if you feel as though your sleep issues are a little too abnormal.
Twenty-one percent of the US population struggles to get a good night’s sleep. You may have heard that the average adult spends approximately thirty-three years of their life in bed… Why struggle any of those years if you don’t have to? Try these hacks and get help if you need it. There is no shame in that game.
Sweet dreams out there!
