Why do I drool while sleeping

Some minor illnesses in our daily lives may cost you your life if we don’t pay enough attention to them. Take the example of drooling when we sleep. Why do we drool when we sleep? I believe many people don’t know much about this problem. Some people think that we don’t pay attention to hygiene, especially oral hygiene. In fact, it is not that simple. It may be a disorder of neuroregulation.

We all know that it is normal for children to drool, but for us adults, why do we often drool while sleeping? I believe no one can give a reasonable answer. Let’s take a look at why we drool while sleeping. Everyone should pay attention to this phenomenon.

The so-called "saliva" is saliva. There are many glands in the human mouth, such as the sublingual gland, submandibular gland, salivary gland, parotid gland, etc. Among them, the salivary glands secrete a large amount of saliva day and night, and put it directly into the mouth through tiny ducts.

Drooling while sleeping may be caused by the following factors: First, poor oral hygiene. If there are food residues or sugar accumulation between teeth and on tooth surfaces, it is easy for bacteria to multiply in the mouth, thereby stimulating saliva secretion and causing drooling while sleeping.

Generally speaking, for babies aged 3 to 4 months, the amount of saliva secretion increases greatly as starch-containing foods are gradually added to their diet. However, the baby's ability to swallow saliva is not yet fully developed at this time, the oral cavity is relatively shallow, and the lip closure and swallowing movements are not coordinated, so the saliva will flow out of the mouth. When babies reach 7 to 8 months old, their drooling will increase due to the stimulation of the nerves in the mouth by the erupting teeth, which will cause them to secrete a large amount of saliva. As the baby grows older, the regulation of saliva secretion and swallowing functions will gradually improve, and the drooling phenomenon will disappear. Therefore, it is a normal physiological phenomenon for babies to drool.

So, why do some adults drool when they sleep? This is because they suffer from neurosis or other diseases that cause autonomic dysfunction, which leads to relatively hyperactivity of the parasympathetic nerves, enhanced gastrointestinal motility, increased secretion of saliva and other digestive juices, and the swallowing action after falling asleep. There are mucosal ulcers, glossitis and other diseases. Due to the stimulation of chronic inflammation, saliva secretion can also increase. Also, due to the body position during sleep, sleeping on your side with your head tilted to one side, you are prone to drooling. Of course, the saliva flow is less in this case.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that drooling in adults is a manifestation of spleen and stomach dysfunction. This condition is common in cases of weakened spleen and stomach motility, water retention, spleen and stomach damp heat, or food retention in the stomach and downward movement, and stomach heat steaming up, which is the so-called "restless sleeping if the stomach is not in harmony."

What should adults do if they drool? First of all, don't have any mental burden. Go to a regular hospital for a check-up and treat the primary disease of drooling, such as neurosis, oral inflammation, etc.; secondly, develop good eating habits, don't go to bed immediately after meals, don't eat too much for dinner or eat too much greasy, sticky and other indigestible food; thirdly, develop good hygiene habits such as rinsing your mouth after meals and brushing your teeth before going to bed to reduce the occurrence of oral inflammation. In addition, do not do strenuous exercise or overuse your brain before going to bed.

What is the reason for drooling while sleeping? Especially for adults, if we drool while sleeping, we should pay attention to it in time. Some people say that people who drool while sleeping will suffer from some brain diseases when they get old, such as cerebral hemorrhage. This is not without basis. Drooling while sleeping means that there is some problem with our nervous system and we should check it in time.