Embarrassing Sleep Conditions - Snoring and Drooling
This post was originally posted on December 17, 2013, and updated on June 13, 2022.
Summary: Life is not like a movie, so embarrassing sleep conditions like sleep apnea that are funny on-screen can have bigger implications to our lives, health, and relationships in the real world.
Snoring can keep your bed partner awake and even drive them into sleeping apart from you. Drooling can leave pillowcases wet in the morning and your bed partner disgusted. Accepting these sleep habits can only further drive a wedge in an intimate relationship. Respecting your partner, even while you sleep is essential to keeping your relationship healthy.
Snoring and Drooling
A soft palate, thick throat tissue, and weak throat muscle tone are all physical reasons why we snore. You are more likely to snore if you are overweight. Your age also affects snoring. As we get older, we are more likely to snore more often. Women are more likely to snore when they are postmenopausal 45% of adults snore on occasion. About 25% snore regularly, which can affect the sleep of a bed partner.
Drooling occurs when excess saliva builds up in the mouth and empties out while we sleep. Taking care of both sleep habits can help keep your bed partner happy.
Why Am I Drooling in My Sleep, Even with A CPAP?
When you start CPAP therapy, drooling can affect your choice of CPAP mask. For instance, some OSA patients find that an oral CPAP mask is the best choice. Many find that in the first few weeks of use, they experience increased drooling as their mouths react to the insertion of the mask as if it were food, which is a natural reaction. This temporary condition will subside in a few weeks as the mouth adjusts to the mask and the drooling stops.
How to Not Drool When Sleeping
There are a few ways to prevent drooling while sleeping.
- Try changing your sleeping position. Sleeping on your back can help stop nighttime drooling.
- Use a wedge pillow. This specialized pillow helps keep your head in one position, so you do not drool.
- Think about treating allergies or sinus problems. Nighttime drooling may be a symptom of your allergies or a sinus infection. Proper treatment may resolve the drooling.
- Take medicine for drooling. There are medications available to help stop nighttime drooling. Talk to your doctor to help treat the problem medically.
OSA And Snoring
Patients with OSA usually experience loud snoring. You may not realize it, but your bed partner may. As you fall asleep the soft palate in your mouth, your tongue and throat relax, which causes a partial blockage of your airway. As air tries to get it through it causes the tissues to vibrate. The more your airway narrows the louder the snoring becomes.
When the airway becomes completely closed you may wake up gasping for air. These are the apneas that occur frequently throughout the night and disrupt healthy sleep.
Reasons for OSA and Snoring
OSA causes the airway so much that loud snoring is one of the most common symptoms. Along with using CPAP therapy equipment to help reduce snoring you can follow best practices to provide a peaceful sleep for you and your bed partner.
- Avoid alcohol before bedtime-alcohol relaxes the throat muscles and enhances snoring.
- Avoid sleep aids-sedatives will help you sleep but at the same time cause throat muscle relaxation.
- Sleep on your stomach or side-this position helps keep your airway open while you sleep so you don’t snore.
- Avoid smoking near bedtime-smoking narrows the airway and can increase the effects of snoring.
Where Can You Buy Your CPAP Therapy Equipment?
The CPAP Shop is an authorized dealer of all CPAP equipment and provides free shipping for all purchases above $99 in the continental USA. Find the best range of Philips and ResMed CPAP Machines and accessories at The CPAP Shop website.
For additional information on topics concerning sleep apnea and CPAP products, please refer to our blog. It is frequently updated and offers free advice and information. If you’d like to learn more about the quality sleep apnea products we carry, or if you have additional questions, don’t hesitate to call us at (866) 414-9700, or you can contact us through our website.