Chewing noises during sleep?

January 18, 2019 11:15 PM

Why does my husband make chewing/lip smacking noises while he's sleeping?

This has been going on for a while now. It doesn't seem to have any sort of trigger that I can discern. He is unaware that he does it. He used to snore a lot more, but lost some significant weight and now snores only rarely. Otherwise in good health and not on any meds, early 30s if it matters. He isn't grinding his teeth as far as I can tell.

Anyone have any insight? (It does wake me occasionally, but I'm looking more for a cause/solution rather than ways to block out the sounds). Thanks!

posted by cozenedindigo to Health & Fitness (5 answers total)

My husband does this, and I strongly suspect that it is a part of his acid reflux (which is also related to sleep apnea although he has never been diagnosed with this). When his reflux is well-controlled, he doesn't do this as much. He never really had the traditional acid reflux "heartburn" symptoms - his worst symptom was a feeling like he was trying to swallow a whole egg when he ate some foods.
posted by muddgirl at 11:44 PM on January 18, 2019 [1 favorite]

Can you wake him up while he's doing this? I only ask because a child of mine used to have nighttime seizures which weren't dramatic full-body convulsions, but did typically include lip-smacking.
posted by lakeroon at 6:58 AM on January 19, 2019

My husband does this. He routinely gets dry mouth. I assume it’s that. He also has apnea (is working with doctors now finally.) So it can be worse when he snores a lot and his mouth is open and getting sticky. The noises don’t do my mysophonia any favors.
posted by Crystalinne at 8:46 AM on January 19, 2019

If he's breathing through his mouth & his lips and mouth are getting dry. I have the same problem. A really good quality lip balm before bed helped as did a humidifier in the room so the air wasn't as dry.
posted by wwax at 8:47 AM on January 19, 2019 [1 favorite]

Could he be dreaming about eating?
posted by SuperSquirrel at 12:43 PM on January 19, 2019 [1 favorite]