Find what you need faster with our web app! It won't take up space. 
Appointment
Review Board
Stories
Mood Music
Health Tracker
Workout
Healthy Eating
Meditation
Well-Being
Social Service
Health News
Podcast E-book

How To Stop Biting Tongue in Sleep : Surprising Facts

Listen to this article

We all have experienced the unpleasant sensation that accompanies biting our tongues. However, there are some who experience the distressing experience after biting their tongues and do not know how it happened. This usually happens when someone bites his tongue in sleep. But how and why does this happen? So let us know how to stop biting tongue in sleep?

Possible Causes of Tongue Biting In Sleep.

If it happens once every few months, there are chances that these are accidents and you may be held responsible for being a restless sleeper or “surviving” your dreams.

We toss and turn while sleeping. Our hands and feet sometimes get into an uncomfortable position, so the same can happen inside our mouths. We sometimes grind our teeth, or cut our tongues.

Braces or Wrongly Aligned Teeth.

If your teeth are wrongly aligned or wear braces, it can easily cause this to happen. Elastics used on braces to set your jaw position can be particularly uncomfortable.

Inadvertently, while sleeping, you can try to find a better position for your jaw and cut off your tongue in the process.

Disorders And Health Conditions.

Stress can cause all kinds of sleep disturbances, grinding teeth, which can occur and cause tongue bites. Stress hormones can be caused by busy schedules at your workplace or school, or any other problem bothering you.

We often put it out immediately, but it can actually be the number one reason. Whatever the reason behind this, try to relax, and if you can’t do it yourself, talk to your doctor about the treatment that can help you. Once you detect the cause of stress and control it, you will stop biting your tongue during sleep.

Tooth grinding is a common disorder that is closely linked to the problem. Since it mimics chewing, you know how possible it is to hurt your tongue during these jaw movements despite your lack of sleep control.

Tongue Infection
Tongue Infection

Sometimes in the difference between grinding your teeth, if you have a disorder, it will need to be treated more severely. Tooth grinding or bruxism is usually a symptom of anxiety and stress, which can be treated with medicine.

Nocturnal are generally a situation when a person performs uncontrolled jerking of organs without conscious consent while sleeping.

All seizures occur involuntarily, and may include muscle stiffness and loss of control over the bladder or intestines. Some seizures may appear in a calm manner without any movement, so it is difficult to notice.

Tongue biting marks can be seen on the edge of the tongue. A person may not have seizures during the day, so diagnosis can only be done by doctors through observation of how people react. To treat this condition, the drug is prescribed. Seizures and tongue bites stop when the medicine is taken.

Read Now: Nutritional Management or Support of Acute Pancreatitis

Rhythmic Movement Disorder.

In this case, all movements are usually confined to the head and neck area. This includes sudden frequent tremors and head beatings when unconscious, and can result in serious injuries, including severe bites.

It may occur before or during the sleep, and a seizure can last for a few minutes. It affects children the most, and although there is medical treatment, they usually stop completely when the child grows up.

Sleep apnea, as you may know, is a condition that causes breathing problems during sleep, including shallow breathing and prolonged pause between each breath.

When this happens, the tongue begins to relax, so it can slip between the teeth, causing injury. Each episode of sleep apnea (and many of them during the night) can bring a new tongue injury which leave bloody marks in the morning. However, there are effective treatments for this condition.

Lyme disease affects the nervous system and brain itself, and communication between nervous system and brain are not properly, thereby giving wrong signals to the muscles and they start moving involuntary and unexpectedly.

Other Reasons.

If you have improper teeth segment and the fitting is not correct then this can also be a reason behind the problem. If so, you have to go to your dentist to make proper adjustments.

Taking psychoactive substances often causes people to grind their teeth, cut their tongues and cheeks. With their increased energy and changed state of perception, they can also enjoy it, as pain receptors are affected by the drug and are not working properly. This can lead to serious injuries.

Some antidepressants and other medicines can cause sleeping difficulty and movements that can cause problems. When the drug is replaced, it usually stops.

Biting Tongue In Sleep Can Damage.

In most cases, damage comes down to pain. However, complications are a real threat as the injury occurs in our mouth, which is full of bacteria. If you think the situation is serious, you should go to the doctor immediately.

If this happens frequently, or you have done it once, but with great strength, you will probably face some bad consequences. Pain and bleeding are most common, but ulcers are also likely to develop, which can take several days to heal.

Morsicatio buccarum is a condition that affects the boundaries of the tongue when it is physically injured by chronic bites. In this case, the edges of the tongue became irritable and painful, and need to be treated.

Read Now: 6 Best Yoga Poses to Boost Immunity Power

Home Remedies.

There are ways to treat injury or relieve pain before going to the doctor.

Applying ice cubes or anything cold on tongue will relieve and reduce pain. You would also like to wash your mouth with saltwater to clean the wound and protect you from infection. Repeat the process a few times or until you feel better.

Avoid eating spicy and hot meals for the rest of the day, and keep yourself away from food that requires more chewing.

Can You Stop Biting Tongue In Sleep?

As we described it could be caused by certain disorders and diseases, in this case the finding is that the early cause of tongue bite problem is not possible. Proper health can cure this problem.

Whatever the reason behind the problem, you are probably wondering if there is anything that can really protect your tongue from getting damaged?

The answer is yes.

There are many types of mouth guards or night guards. Boil and chop, that you need to boil in water before using to make it soft, and partially custom fits them into your mouth. They can be found in some shops.

Bottom Line.

Biting tongue in sleep is a common problem that majority of people may have faced in their life. However, if it happen frequently then you must consult to your doctor as proper diagnosis and treatments are compulsory.

+1 Source

Freaktofit has strict sourcing guidelines and relies on peer-reviewed studies, educational research institutes, and medical organizations. We avoid using tertiary references. You can learn more about how we ensure our content is accurate and up-to-date by reading our editorial policy.

  1. Treatment of Morsicatio Buccarum by Oral Appliance: Case Report; https://www.koreascience.or.kr/article/JAKO202128557339132.pdf

ebook

WANT OUR e-BOOK?

SIGN UP TO GET FREE e-BOOK REGARDING HEALTH & FITNESS!

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Expert Q&A
Ask a Question
Share Now:

Was this article helpful?

🤓

😕

The best of health & fitness platform

We do the research so you don't have to. Stay up-to-date with the latest health and fitness information.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

The best of health & fitness platform

We do the research so you don't have to. Stay up-to-date with the latest health and fitness information.

We don’t spam! Read our privacy policy for more info.

Evidence Based

This content is based on scientific research and written by experts.

Our team of licensed health professionals, nutritionists and fitness experts endeavor to be unbiased, objective, honest and to present each sides of the argument.

This article contains scientific references. The numbers in the parentheses (1,2,3) are clickable links to peer-reviewed scientific researches.