If you grind your teeth at night, you may have experienced problems such as tooth damage and jaw pain. These aren't fun to deal with, so you're likely curious as to how to stop engaging in the habit. There are many methods to help prevent teeth grinding, but one you may not have thought of is to get better quality sleep. Fatigue is linked to teeth grinding, so you will want to do what you can to get refreshing sleep every night. Below are some tips on how to achieve this.

Fall asleep/wake up at the same time each day

To adopt better sleeping habits, the first thing you should do is set a time to go to bed and wake up each day. You should take your daily habits into account when deciding on these times. For example, if you work at 9 am and need 2 hours to be at work on time, you should plan to wake up for 7 am. Decide on how much sleep you need to feel well-rested, and subtract this amount of hours from your set wake-up time. This will determine the time you should be asleep by.

Avoid sleeping in on weekends

You will get your best quality sleep if you have consistency in your sleeping schedule, and this includes weekends. So if you use weekends to catch up on sleep, it is time to change that! Do what you can to get an appropriate amount of sleep each and every night. This may involve increasing the amount of hours you sleep if the current amount doesn't leave you feeling refreshed.

Create a pre-bed routine

If you suffer from insomnia, you will want to create a nightly routine to help you relax before bed. This may involve activities like reading a book, practicing meditation, or listening to calming music. Experiment with different things to see what helps you relax the most. And whatever you do, avoid checking your phone or computer!

Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed

Caffeine and alcohol interfere with sleep quality, increasing the odds you will grind your teeth at night. So watch your intake of these substances before bed. You may want to create a log of what you drink each day to see if your teeth grinding symptoms (such as jaw pain and headaches) increase after drinking certain things.

The above tips should help you get the restful sleep you need to prevent teeth grinding. However, if you don't notice a change in how often you grind your teeth, you will want to consult with a dentist to learn more about this topic.

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