Why do I feel thirsty after waking up (why do I feel dry mouth when I wake up at night)

Sleeping itself allows the body to relax, but sometimes after waking up, the body feels even more tired, and the mouth feels uncomfortable in various ways, very dry, and has a bitter taste. Why do I feel particularly thirsty after waking up?

The causes of thirst while sleeping are: liver and kidney yin deficiency, low indoor air humidity, getting angry, sleeping posture problems, and dry air.

1. Liver and kidney yin deficiency

From the perspective of traditional Chinese medicine, the bad taste is generally caused by liver and kidney yang deficiency. The professional Chinese medicine name is called Sjögren's syndrome. You should sleep with your mouth closed. Sleeping with your mouth open will cause the small tongue at the top of your mouth to hang down, which will hinder your breathing and easily cause hypoxia in the body. If you want to change the habit of sleeping with your mouth open, you can adjust the height of the pillow to lower your head.

2. Low indoor air humidity

Many people like to sleep with the windows closed, especially during the day. They cannot fall asleep without closing the windows. Sleeping with the windows closed can indeed reduce noise, but it also reduces the air flow in the room. In places where the air is not flowing smoothly, it is easy to get smelly. We all know that it is hot in summer and we like to stay in air-conditioned rooms. If we stay in an air-conditioned room for a long time, we will feel dry mouth and tongue even if we don’t sleep.

3. Getting angry

A sore throat and dry mouth are common when the body is overheated. If you eat too much chili pepper during the day, you are most likely to have a dry mouth and sore throat when you wake up the next day. You can try drinking some herbal tea to reduce heat. Occasional dry mouth is normal, but if it happens frequently you should see a doctor.

4. Sleeping posture problems

Sleeping on your stomach or side will make you drool easily. The saliva at this time is a kind of saliva that is secreted by the mouth without the control of the brain. The water in the body is consumed too quickly and the water is not replenished in time, so you will have a dry mouth when you wake up.

5. Air drying

This is affected by the overall environment. Places like the northwest are very dry, so you need to drink water before going to bed. Otherwise, after sleeping, you will feel like your mouth is not your own because it is too dry. The amount of water you should drink is scientifically calculated. An adult should drink at least 1500 ml of water every day to balance the water in the body and consumption. If there is less water in the body, your mouth will be dry.

Why do I wake up with dry mouth at night?

There are many reasons for dry mouth and thirst.

1. Oral diseases, such as chronic submandibular gland inflammation, mumps, oral gland stones and other diseases can lead to oral gland lesions and reduce saliva secretion, thus causing dry mouth symptoms; and many elderly people experience dry mouth due to aging of tissue and organ functions and atrophy of oral glands, which reduces saliva secretion.

Treatment measures - This type of dry mouth in the elderly is physiological dry mouth. You can go to the dentistry department for a specialist examination. You should also pay attention to oral hygiene and keep your mouth clean.

2. Thirst caused by diabetes. Many diabetic patients have high blood sugar, which will cause their urine volume to increase sharply. At this time, even if you drink a lot of water, you will still feel unbearable thirst.

Treatment measures: Go to the hospital to check your blood sugar and adjust your blood sugar under the guidance of a doctor.

3. Lack of water in the human body causes thirst. When the weather is hot, when doing heavy physical labor, losing blood, burns, vomiting, diarrhea, or sweating profusely due to high temperature (heat stroke), people will feel thirsty. This is because the thirst is caused by severe lack of water in the human body.

Treatment strategy: drink enough water.

4. Sjögren's syndrome. Patients with Sjögren's syndrome may also experience symptoms of dry mouth. Sjögren's syndrome is an autoimmune disease that often affects the exocrine glands. Dry mouth and dry eyes are the most prominent manifestations. In the early stages, patients often experience a lack of saliva, dry mouth, or a sticky feeling in the mouth, followed by difficulty swallowing. They must use water to swallow dry foods (such as biscuits), and may wake up at night due to dry mouth.

Treatment strategies - If you want to cure the dry mouth and thirst caused by Sjögren's syndrome, you must go to the hospital for treatment and take medication under the guidance of a doctor.

5. Thirst caused by improper use of medication. Everyone has this feeling. Sometimes after taking medicine, they feel dry mouth and tongue. This is thirst caused by improper use of medication, because improper use of some medicines can lead to an imbalance of water and electrolytes in the body. In addition, there is thirst caused by certain special medicines.

Treatment measures: Adjust medication under the guidance of a doctor.

6. Thirst caused by kidney disease. People with kidney disease often experience thirst. This is because the kidneys have lost the ability to retain water and therefore require large amounts of water.

7. Lungs are not able to distribute fluid and kidney yin is insufficient. Traditional Chinese medicine believes that dry mouth involves the lungs, kidneys, spleen and stomach. Lungs are not able to distribute fluid and kidney yin is insufficient, etc. can cause dry mouth. Eating spicy and hot foods can also cause dry mouth. At this time, drinking water alone is not enough, and you also need to nourish yin and produce fluid.

Treatment measures: Drinks such as watermelon juice, lotus root juice, pear juice, milk, and sour plum juice can help promote salivation and quench thirst, so you should adjust your life starting with your diet.