Even if you suspect that a medication may be contributing, the appropriate response is to discuss it with the person who prescribed it.

Sometimes adjusting the timing or choosing an alternative medication may be appropriate, but that decision should be made professionally.

10. Reflux May Sometimes Increase Saliva

Another possible contributor is gastroesophageal reflux.

Some people with reflux experience increased saliva production, sometimes called water brash.

This can happen when the body responds to acid entering the esophagus.

If nighttime drooling occurs along with symptoms such as:

• Heartburn
• Sour taste
• Regurgitation
• Burning discomfort
• Chronic throat irritation
• Hoarseness

reflux may be worth considering.

Drooling alone does not prove that reflux is the cause.

As with many health symptoms, the combination of symptoms provides more useful information than one isolated sign.

11. Deep Sleep Can Make Drooling More Noticeable

During sleep, you aren't consciously monitoring what your mouth is doing.

You don't think:

“I'm producing saliva, so I should swallow now.”

Your body handles swallowing automatically, but the frequency and coordination of swallowing change during sleep.

Meanwhile, your facial muscles relax.

If your lips separate slightly, saliva may escape before you swallow it.

This can be particularly noticeable during periods of deep sleep.

So waking up with drool doesn't necessarily mean your body is producing an abnormal amount of saliva.

It may simply mean that normal saliva wasn't swallowed before it escaped.

12. Some People Simply Produce More Saliva

Individual differences matter.

People don't all produce exactly the same amount of saliva.

Some naturally have greater salivary flow, while others have less.

The amount of saliva that ends up on your pillow can also depend on:

• Mouth position
• Sleeping position
• Swallowing frequency
• Nasal breathing
• Facial muscle relaxation

That's why one person can sleep through the night without any noticeable drooling while another occasionally wakes up with a damp pillow.

Neither situation necessarily indicates a problem.

13. A Wet Pillow Doesn't Automatically Mean You Have Too Much Saliva

This is an important distinction.

There are at least two different possibilities:

Increased saliva production

Your body is producing more saliva than usual.

Saliva escaping more easily

Your saliva production may be completely normal, but your mouth is open or you're swallowing less frequently.

The second explanation may be much more relevant for many people who drool during sleep.

That's why simply trying to “reduce saliva” isn't necessarily the right approach.

You first need to understand why it is escaping.

14. What If You Wake Up With Both a Wet Pillow and Dry Mouth?

This combination can be particularly revealing.

It often points toward nighttime mouth breathing.

Air flowing through an open mouth can dry the tissues inside the mouth while saliva escapes externally.

You might wake up feeling like you desperately need water even though your pillow is wet.

Other clues can include:

• Dry lips
• Sticky saliva
• Bad breath
• Scratchy throat
• Nasal congestion
• Snoring