If you wake up in the morning with a wet spot on your pillow, it’s because of excess saliva from your mouth while you were sleeping. We all drool regularly when we sleep
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. As a result, people sometimes drool.
Is it normal to drool while sleeping?
In most cases, drooling during sleep is normal. Saliva production varies throughout the day, possibly in accordance with circadian rhythms. Although people produce more saliva during the day and less at night, saliva production continues during sleep. This saliva plays an important role in lubricating the mouth and throat, which is necessary for good health. Continuous salivation during sleep can cause drooling, bad breath, dehydration, and embarrassment.
Why do I leak in my sleep?
There are signs of leakage
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Difficulty keeping saliva in the mouth or difficulty swallowing when excessive salivation occurs. Excessive salivation is called sialorrhea. Drooling while you sleep is normal, but certain factors can cause you to drool more than usual.
Your sleeping position
Your sleeping position
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It affects how much saliva is released on the pillow in the morning. When a sleeper is lying on their back, gravity causes excess saliva to remain in their mouth or go down their throat. However, for people who sleep on their side or stomach, gravity pulls their saliva to the pillow, resulting in drooling.
If you’re a side or stomach sleeper and sleep with your mouth open, you’ll be even more likely to drool while sleeping. Sleeping on your back can help reduce leakage. You can also take measures to cover your mouth when you breathe through your nose or sleep, such as using masking tape.
Infections and allergies
If you have a cold, strep throat, or seasonal allergies, these conditions can cause your sinuses to become inflamed, blocking your airways, causing you to breathe through your mouth and drool more than usual.
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. Other infections such as mononucleosis, tonsillitis, and sinus infections can also cause excessive salivation.
Gastroesophageal reflux disease
Heartburn may be the most well-known symptom of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), but other symptoms include drooling and shortness of breath.
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, or difficulty swallowing are also common symptoms. People with dysphagia with GERD feel like there is a lump in their throat, which causes them to drool more often. Additionally, whenever your esophagus becomes irritated or blocked
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, your body produces more saliva to deal with the irritation, leading to more drooling.
Sleep apnea
Sleep apnea (OSA) is a sleep-related breathing disorder
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This causes you to temporarily stop breathing while you sleep. Mouth breathing
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often accompanies or worsens OSA. Breathing through your mouth while you sleep increases the chance of drooling because saliva flows easily when your mouth is open. Talk to your doctor if you have additional symptoms of OSA, including:
Snoring, wheezing and suffocation during sleep
Waking up at night
Morning headache
Difficulty concentrating during the day
Daytime sleepiness
Brutism
Dribbling often accompanies sleep bruxism
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, or teeth grinding during sleep. This could be a result of bruxism’s association with mouth breathing, since saliva is more likely to leave the mouth when a person keeps their mouth open during sleep. In addition to drooling and mouth breathing, other common risk factors for bruxism include snoring, restlessness, and shorter sleep times.
Medication Side Effects
If you take prescription medications and drool at night, your medication may be a potential cause of the drooling. Excessive salivation and drooling are side effects of certain medications, including some antibiotics, antipsychotic drugs, and medications used to treat Alzheimer’s. If drooling is listed as a potential side effect of your medication, do not stop taking your medication. Instead, speak with your doctor first about your concerns, and ask if they can recommend an alternative medication that won’t cause you to drool as much.
Underlying Medical Conditions
Your nervous system stimulates your salivary glands, which may explain why swallowing is impaired
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and excessive drooling are common with neurodegenerative disorders. For example, around 70% of people with Parkinson’s disease and up to 80% of people with cerebral palsy experience excessive salivation. Difficulty swallowing and excessive drooling may also occur as a result of:
Epiglottitis
Bell’s palsy
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)
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Huntington’s
Stroke
Traumatic brain injury
How to Stop Drooling in Your Sleep
Drooling while you sleep is normal, and does not necessarily require treatment. That said, if you believe you drool excessively, there are a number of strategies you can try to stop drooling in your sleep, from lifestyle changes to speech therapy, medication, and surgery. Some treatments are simple, while others are only recommended for more severe cases of drooling. Make an appointment with your doctor to discuss what is right for you.
Change Sleeping Positions
The easiest action you can take to relieve your drooling is to change your sleeping position. If you sleep on your side or your stomach, try switching to your back.
Be aware that while changing your sleep position, you may need to get a new pillow to sleep comfortably. Side sleepers typically use a much thicker pillow than back sleepers, while stomach sleepers use a much thinner pillow, or no pillow at all. If you are having trouble staying on your back throughout the night, place additional pillows along the sides of your body to help you stay in position.
