How to Stop Drooling While Sleeping

If you’re often confused by drooling on your pillow when you wake up, you may need some changes in your sleeping habits. Some people simply need to lie on their backs to stop drooling, while others may need more drastic measures. Try some of the following suggestions and see your doctor if you continue to drool at night.

Table of Contents

Change your sleeping habits

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Lie on your back while sleeping. People who sleep on their side are more likely to drool, simply because gravity causes their mouths to open and drool to flow down the pillow. Try sleeping on your back with a brace so you don’t change this position at night.

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Elevate your head. If you have to sleep on your side, you can try elevating your head slightly to help close your mouth and allow better air circulation.

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Breathe through your nose, not through your mouth. The main cause of people drooling is blocked nasal sinuses. So they have to breathe through their mouth and drool while breathing.

Try applying decongestant products like Vick’s Vaporub and Tiger Balm directly under your nose to clear it up.
Inhale essential oils like eucalyptus and rose before bed to clear sinuses and soothe before bed.
Take a hot shower before bed to steam clean the sinuses. ^{[1] X Research Source}

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Treat sinusitis and allergies as soon as they appear. Untreated illnesses can cause postnasal drip and increased salivation during sleep. ^{[2] X Research Source}

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Find out if the medications you’re taking increase salivation. Excessive saliva can be a sign of side effects of many medications. Read the warnings on the medicine labels and ask your doctor about the side effects of the medicines.

Diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea

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Find out if you have sleep apnea. If you have trouble sleeping, breathe heavily, snore loudly, or drool a lot, you may have sleep apnea. This condition makes breathing shallow and thin during sleep.

Certain behaviors and medical conditions can increase the risk of sleep apnea. These factors include smoking, high blood pressure, and being at increased risk of heart failure and stroke.
Your doctor can determine if you have sleep apnea by monitoring your sleep and reviewing your sleep history.

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Find out if you’re at risk for a blocked airway. Drooling is also a symptom of a blocked airway. See an otolaryngologist to find out if a blocked airway is affecting your ability to breathe through your nose while you sleep. ^{[3] X Research Sources}

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Losing weight. If you are overweight, you are more likely to develop sleep apnea. More than half of the 12 million Americans with sleep apnea are overweight. You should change your diet and exercise regularly to achieve a healthy weight and reduce your neck measurement to make it easier to breathe. ^{[4] X Research Sources}

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Treat sleep apnea in a conservative way. Sleep apnea can be treated in a variety of ways beyond weight loss. People diagnosed with sleep apnea should not drink alcohol, use sleeping pills, and try to avoid insomnia. Simple nasal sprays and saline solutions can also help clear the nasal passages. ^{[5] X Research Sources}

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Use mechanical therapy to treat sleep apnea. Continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) is the first choice commonly used by patients with sleep apnea. With CPAP therapy, the patient will wear a mask that allows air to pass through the nose and mouth during sleep. This is to pressurize enough air through the nasal passages, which helps prevent the tissues in the upper airways from pressing down while the patient sleeps.

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Use the tool to bring the lower jaw forward. This device prevents the tongue from pressing down on the throat airway and helps to bring the lower jaw forward to further open the airway.

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Surgery. People with congested tissues such as a deformed nasal septum, enlarged tonsils, or an overly large tongue may require various surgeries.

Somnoplasty uses radiofrequency to cause the soft palate to constrict in the throat and open the airways.
‘ Uvulopalatopharyngoplasty or UPPP/UP3 can surgically remove soft tissue in the pharynx to open the airway.
Nasal surgery includes many procedures to correct obstructions or deformities such as a deformity of the nasal septum.
A tonsillectomy (tonsillectomy) can remove enlarged tonsils that are obstructing the airway.
Mandibular/maxillary advancement surgery is surgery that moves the jawbone forward to create space in the throat. This is a major procedure that only applies to the most severe cases of sleep apnea. ^{[6] X Research Sources}

Advice

Do not try to open your mouth while sleeping to “dry” the saliva. This doesn’t help but just makes you sore throat, especially when sleeping in a room with low temperature.
To make it easier to sleep on your back, buy a good quality mattress that supports your head and neck.
Try a lavender-scented eye patch and sleep on your back.

Steps

Change your sleeping habits

Diagnosis and treatment of sleep apnea

Advice

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