When I was small, there were moments I woke up drooling on my pillow. I was just 6 or 7 years old at that time.
It never happened again until I was 23 years old. Always tired, sleeping late, and developed a sedentary lifestyle.
I woke up realizing that I had drooled on my pillow, but not because I am a child. Thinking if I have snored loudly that night.
Nighttime drooling is something I thought was normal and should not be a big deal. Until there are days when I have been drooling on my pillow consistently.
That’s when something on my mind hit me. What if I already have a health problem?
Let’s answer the question: “Why do I drool after waking up, and what does it mean to my health?”
Here’s what you need to know about drooling:
Sleeping Position Effect
Sleeping position affects your ability to drool on your pillow, especially if you sleep on your stomach or on your sides.
Compared to back sleepers, stomach and side sleepers drool more because saliva is gravitationally pulled outward rather than inward.
This is a possibility where your overall health is in a normal state, but your sleeping position is encouraging you to drool on your pillow.
Your Mouth is Open While Sleeping
You may have experienced drool because your mouth stays open, letting the saliva go out of your mouth directly.
When your mouth is open during your deep sleep, your jaw muscles are relaxed, and the esophagus is closed.
That means you might be in good health, but your mouth stays open during deep sleep.
Breathing through Your Mouth
Drooling on your pillow at times is caused by the blocked nasal passages due to sinusitis, colds, or allergic reactions.
Since breathing becomes challenging, your mouth is forced to open to inhale and release some air.
While you’re sleeping, your clogged nose does not function well, resulting in the airways looking for an alternative exit.
Saliva Overproduction
There are moments when you are drooling due to the excess saliva in your mouth.
As your mouth produces saliva, drooling on your pillow might become consistent every night.
Other triggers for saliva overproduction are certain medications, consuming spicy meals, and acid reflux.
This can be resolved if you lessen the impact of saliva overproduction triggers, like consuming less spicy foods.
Sleeping Too Deep
When you are sleeping deeply, you often don’t realize that you have been drooling.
This occurs because your body doesn’t respond immediately during deep sleep.
That means you sleep so deeply that your body doesn’t swallow enough saliva.
It is not a sign of a medical problem, but indicates how soundly you sleep.
Acid Reflux Activates
When you are drooling a lot or consistently, that could also mean your acid reflux is active while you sleep.
Your body will produce excess saliva to protect your throat from the possibility that the stomach acid might go upward.
Those who have acid reflux tend to have an active digestive system while they’re sleeping. That’s why drooling is considered the body’s mechanism against the acid.
Sinus and Allergy Dripping
When you are vulnerable or easily triggered by sinusitis or allergy, the mouth may cause excess saliva production.
There are also instances where your airways are congested, which pushes your body to produce saliva.
Understood that the body alerted its defense by producing much saliva, resulting in drooling.
Medication Effects
Some medications have the side effect of boosting your saliva production.
It happens by triggering your nerves and your ability to achieve quality sleep.
In this case, drooling is considered a side effect of a specific medication and not an indicator of a health problem.
Dental and Jaw Positioning Problems
An obvious case for drooling is the alignment of your jaw and teeth.
There are cases where the jaw and teeth are not positioned properly, affecting the drooling capacity of the individuals.
Chewing your food also affects your dental and jaw positioning. Making the drooling situation dependent on an individual’s mouth alignment.
Drooling, in this case, signifies the physical disadvantage which result for an inevitable outcome.
Underlying Medical Issue
If you experience extreme drooling often accompanied by swallowing or speaking problems, this can be a sign of an undiagnosed medical condition.
In this case, drooling is an effect to a sleep-related condition or a neurological complication that has yet to be checked by health professionals.
The only way to prevent this condition from affecting your sleep, consult your doctor early.
Smart Tips for Drooling Reduction
Although drooling is entirely harmless, its causes are different, so one should know better before it becomes a problem.
Most of the drooling problems are linked to sleeping habits, but there are also cases where it is caused by other conditions.
Checking your situation is the first step to identifying whether the drooling is either normal or bothersome.
If you are having some physical problems, excessive or sudden saliva production, and consistency, it could mean something that you must check out.
Should you experience some consistent drooling after waking up, follow these smart reduction tips:
- Drink water consistently.
- Decongest your nasal airways.
- When sleeping, raise your head slightly.
- Avoid eating heavy meals before sleeping.
- Ask a health professional about your drooling situation.
Body Response or Health Condition?
Drooling is considered normal if you achieve quality sleep, a great sleeping position, and decongested airways.
But from all factors mentioned, there are two ways to determine your drooling. Is it because my body responded or because I have an underlying condition?
If there are symptoms aside from drooling, it is better to seek early help from your trusted health professionals.
Should your test results be normal, that means you need to consider a reality check on your sleeping habits.