Sleep Disorders Causes & Risk Factors What Is Dry Mouth During Sleep? By Brandon Peters, MD facebook twitter Brandon Peters, MD, is a board-certified neurologist and sleep medicine specialist. Learn about our editorial process Brandon Peters, MD Medically reviewed by Medically reviewed by Sanja Jelic, MD on November 04, 2019 Sanja Jelic, MD is board-certified in pulmonary disease, sleep medicine, critical care medicine, and internal medicine. She is an assistant professor and attending physician at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York, NY. Learn about our Medical Review Board Sanja Jelic, MD Updated on May 11, 2020 Print Table of Contents View All Symptoms Causes Diagnosis Treatment Before wandering off to bed, you stop in the kitchen or bathroom to fill a glass of water that you set on your nightstand. Just like nearly every night, you know you’ll wake up with a dry mouth and want a few sips from it later. What causes mouth and throat dryness to occur at night during sleep? Can drinking water at night actually be a sign of a sleep disorder like snoring or sleep apnea? That glass of water might signify other problems with your breathing in sleep. Caiaimage / Tom Merton / Getty Images First, you shouldn’t need to drink water at night. In normal circumstances, our bodies provide us with the ability to go 8 hours or longer without interrupting sleep for drinking or eating. What are some of the reasons that you might need to drink water at night? Dry Mouth During Sleep Symptoms Most people drink water at night simply because their mouth becomes dry. This is sometimes called xerostomia. Feeling parched might be relatively minor or even extreme, resulting in a tongue or throat that feels as dry as a bone. There are a number of conditions that may contribute to a dry mouth. Causes One of the more common causes of drinking water at night may be the use of medications that cause dryness. These can include diuretics, medications that may be prescribed to treat blood pressure, swelling in the feet (peripheral edema), or heart failure. Lasix, or furosemide, is an example of a diuretic medication. Furthermore, anticholinergic medications can also lead to dryness, such as antidepressants like amitriptyline or nortriptyline or sleeping pills that contain diphenhydramine. There are numerous medications that can contribute, and you may want to review your medication list with your pharmacist or doctor to identify any potential culprits. If the symptom started with the use or increased dose of a medication, this makes it a more likely cause. There are also medical conditions that might cause mouth dryness. These include diabetes, lupus, and Sjogren’s Syndrome. Typically there are other symptoms as well with these disorders that would bring the diagnosis to light. Many people experience dry mouth at night simply because they are breathing through their mouth when they sleep. This is more likely occur secondary to obstruction of the nose. This can occur with colds, allergies, or even because of structural problems such as a deviated nasal septum or enlarged turbinates. By default, we are meant to breathe through our noses. This reduces evaporation of moisture from the soft tissues that line our airways. However, when we default to mouth breathing, the movement of the air quickly dries us out. Mouth breathing at night is often associated with snoring. It may also occur in the context of more disturbed breathing in sleep, in the condition called sleep apnea. These conditions may be worsened when sleeping on your back or with alcohol use near bedtime. Therefore, needing to drink water at night may be an early sign that you are not breathing well. You may be at higher risk of having these other sleep disorders affecting your breathing at night. If you use continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) to treat sleep apnea, air escaping with mouth breathing may worsen the dryness. Diagnosis If you frequently experience dry mouth at night, you may want to speak with your doctor about your concerns. As above, it will be important to rule out any medications as a cause of your problem. If there is no evidence for another medical disorder, it may be reasonable to investigate your breathing during sleep with a sleep study. Treatment To help your mouth dryness, it may be important to start elsewhere by ensuring proper airflow through your nose. This may involve allergy treatment or even surgery to address other structural abnormalities. If you are found to have sleep apnea, treatment with CPAP may help. In rare cases, mouth moisteners such as Biotene may be recommended. Lifestyle and self-care steps such as avoiding sugar, chewing sugarless gum, drinking enough water, and consuming less caffeine may also help. A Word From Verywell You don’t have to keep a glass of water on your nightstand. If you have mouth dryness at night, seek evaluation and get back to breathing—and sleeping—better. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Tossing and turning night over night can have a big impact on your quality of life. Our free guide can help you get the rest you need. Sign up for our newsletter and get it free. Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit Article Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. American Dental Association. Xerostomia (Dry Mouth). Updated July 8, 2019. Wolff A, Joshi RK, Ekström J, et al. A guide to medications inducing salivary gland dysfunction, xerostomia, and subjective sialorrhea: A systematic review sponsored by the World Workshop on Oral Medicine VI. Drugs R D. 2017;17(1):1-28. doi:10.1007/s40268-016-0153-9 National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Health Info: Dry Mouth. Updated July 2018. Kim EJ, Choi JH, Kim KW, et al. The impacts of open-mouth breathing on upper airway space in obstructive sleep apnea: 3-D MDCT analysis. Eur Arch Otorhinolaryngol. 2011;268(4):533-9. doi:10.1007/s00405-010-1397-6 National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Dry mouth. Updated July 2018. Additional Reading Kryger, MH et al. "Principles and Practice of Sleep Medicine." Elsevier, 5th edition.