We’ve all had it where we wake up in the morning from a good night’s sleep only to find that our face is covered in our own spit and that we’ve drooled all over the pillow. This is far from attractive and the other bad news is that it often means we’ve also dried out a nice patch of our face so that we have an equally unattractive red streak down our face that we have to put up with.
The other downside is that it means that the spit is on our pillow – not in our mouth where it should be – and that means that we’ll wake up with a dry mouth and probably halitosis (our saliva is supposed to kill off and wash away the foul smelling bacteria that causes this).
The problem is you’re asleep, so you have little say in the matter in theory, but fortunately there are some strategies you can use to reduce the likelihood of this happening. And we’ll of course look at what these strategies are and how to use them here.
Sleep More Upright
Sleeping on your side makes you drool out of your mouth and means that you’re at the perfect angle for drool to escape. If you’re upright by propping yourself up with more pillows then your saliva will be more inclined to collect in your bottom jaw, and you’ll be less likely to turn on your side.
Sleep on Your Back
Failing this, just sleeping on your back rather than your sides can be a good method to help you prevent drooling. This means going to sleep on your back and tucking yourself in well so that you don’t toss and turn much. You might find that you still have a tendency to roll onto your back, but there are ways to prevent this. For instance try attaching something uncomfortable to your sides – for instance taping a golf ball to the sides of your pajamas. This will mean that you can’t get comfy on your side in the night and so you’ll unconsciously roll back over onto your back while remaining asleep. You can also get a spotter – just ask your partner to roll you back over onto your back whenever they see you on your side in the night.
Unclog Your Sinuses
The number one reason people drool in the night though is simply because they are breathing through their mouth when they should be breathing through their nose. To avoid this happening just make sure that your nose is clear and not blocked and you should be more likely to naturally breath through your nose (practice this before going to bed too). Strategies to achieve this include using a vaporub which will act to clear out your sinuses as you breath it in (you place is on your chest) or leaning over a bowl of steam with a towel over your head. As you breathe it in the warm steam will break up sinuses and clear passages.
Good article