Are you always feeling your mouth dry and uncomfortable when waking up in the morning? Do you want to drink water as soon as you get up? Do you find you have a bad taste in your mouth once you wake up? If your answer to these questions is yes, it’s necessary for you to identify the underlying causes of why you wake up with a dry mouth and find some solutions. This article is going to provide you several treatments for dry mouth.
What’s the dry mouth?
Dry mouth, also called xerostomia, refers to a health condition that occurs when you don’t make enough saliva in your mouth. Due to the lack of saliva in a dry mouth, bacteria could easily take hold and cause cavities and gum disease.
A dry mouth may result in symptoms such as:
- Sore throat
- Dry tongue
- Difficulty swallowing
- Difficulty speaking
- A bad taste in the mouth
- Hoarseness
- Bad breath
What causes dry mouth when you wake up?
The reasons for dry mouth when waking up could be categorized into the following 6 aspects.
1.Mouth breathing
Your dry mouth might be related to your sleep habits. Sleeping with mouth open, or snoring both contribute to this problem.
2.Medications
Dry mouth is a common side effect of many drugs such as blood pressure drugs and anti-anxiety drugs.
3.Diseases
Diseases like diabetes, stroke, Alzheimer’s disease can lead to dehydration, which could be the reason for your dry mouth as well.
4.Tobacco and alcohol
Alcohol is acidic and can dehydrate, leading to dry mouth and even tooth problems. Tobacco can alter your salivary flow rate. It can also affect your oral health.
5.Cancer therapy
The damage to the neck or head brought about by radiation treatment, surgery or injury could also be one reason for your dry mouth. In this case, your salivary glands are damaged, leading to long-term dry mouth.
6.Aging
Aging people tend to experience dry mouth more frequently. Some researches have shown that 30 percent of adults over 65 years old and nearly 40 percent of adults over age 80 years may have this condition.
Treatments
Here are some treatments for alleviating dry mouth.
1.Stay hydrated by drinking plenty of water in waking hours
2.Avoid eating any spicy or acidic food before bed
3.Reduce your caffeine consumption
4.Limit alcohol intake
5.Quit smoking
6.Use a humidifier in your room at night to keep moisture in the air
7.Stop taking the medicine that may cause dry mouth. You could ask your pharmacist about it.
There are many reasons why you wake up with a dry mouth. Your lifestyle, sleeping habits and health condition may become the underlying causes. The above suggestions are for reference only. If your dry mouth becomes severe, you must consult your doctor. They could provide you the most reliable treatment.
If you have trouble sleeping, try ShutEye, an all-in-one sleep app. ShutEye brings a wide variety of tools to help you fall asleep and understand your sleep cycles from a scientific perspective.
So stop tossing and turning all night, and starting falling asleep in a healthy and natural way.
You may also like:
Are You Stressed? | 3-Minute Stress Test
14 Sleep Hygiene Tips For Better Sleep
8 Relaxing Sounds to Help You Sleep Better and Relieve Stress
