HEALTH

Your Bod

I drool when I sleep

Doctors have a fancy term for nighttime drooling: sialorrhea. And it’s super common. So rest easy—nothing is wrong. We produce more saliva during the day, but we are tidy about it because we swallow a lot. At night, we forget because—duh—we’re sleeping. If you lie on your side, sial-whatever-hea is more of a problem as saliva pools up in your cheek and seeps out, explains Dr. John Winkelman, associate director, Sleep Disorders Service, Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston. Sleep on your back—when the spit collects back there, it triggers a swallowing reflex. If you keep slobbering, who cares? Drool is nothing to lose sleep over.

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by GL | 2/1/2016
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