Causes and Treatment for Nocturnal Sleep Grinding

October 31, 2016
Have you woken up to a sore jaw, headache or a feeling that your teeth are worn down? Or worse, your teeth felt loose, chipped or broken? If your answer is Yes, you might have Bruxism.

Bruxism or nocturnal teeth grinding is a condition where you clench or grind your teeth when you sleep. Such condition, of course, can create sleep disturbances especially if you need to get out of your mattress San Diego early the next day to prepare for work.

Bruxism affects 40 million Americans and alarmingly 5-10% of them have teeth that were damaged due to severe tooth grinding. Here are the reasons why Sleep Bruxism occurs:

1. Sleep Arousal. People who are sleeping at one point show cardiac and respiratory activities which are called sleep-related arousal. The muscular activity also increases especially on the jaw which causes people to grind their teeth. These type of arousal usually happen 15 times an hour when you sleep.

2. Psychological factors. Nocturnal teeth grinding may also be due to stress, anxiety, intense emotions and mental disorders. It has also been linked to people with aggressive, hyperactive or competitive personalities.

3. Sleep Disorders. People who are snoring, pauses during sleep and those with sleep apneas are also found to experience bruxism. People who talk while they sleep, those who show violent or injurious behaviors during sleep, and those experiencing sleep paralysis and hallucinations are also brux candidates.

4. Lifestyle Factors. Smokers, coffee-addicts, and heavy alcohol consumers more often experience bruxism as the substances destroy healthy sleep patterns.

What are the Treatment Options?

1. Choose the right type of mattress that promotes muscle relaxation.

2. Visit your dentist especially if your teeth were chipped, broken or damaged. Your dentist will normally recommend that you wear a mouthguard or splint to protect your teeth, to eliminate the disturbing sounds you make (which disturbs your partner, too!), as well as to prevent damage to your jaw.

3. Develop stress management and relaxation techniques.

4. Enroll in behavior therapies that would teach you how to practice proper mouth and jaw positioning.

5. Take muscle relaxants to ease the tension in your jaw muscles before you hit your bed.

6. Visit a sleep expert to have him/her conduct a sleep study for you which will aid in the treatment of your condition.

Mattress Sale Liquidators has a wide range of quality and affordable San Diego mattress that will help you sleep well without the disturbance of teeth grinding. Call us at 619-760-7031 today.