What is causing my strange symptoms?
For the past few days I have woken up with a very stiff jaw. It feels like I had been chomping down on chewing gum for a week straight and now my jaw is weak and sore. That’s the best way to describe it. It’s not all that painful. It’s more of an annoyance. I’ve had more headaches than usual too. I feel the tightness all the way up to my temples. Is this caused by clenching my teeth at night? If so, how can I stop something that happens when I’m asleep?
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11 Answers
Sounds to me like you are under a lot of stress. Have you tried meditation or other relaxation techniques before bedtime?
TMJ, Temporomandibular Joint disorders, can be caused by stress and anxiety. A dentist can diagnose and confirm. There are some relaxation techniques to help with the muscles surrounding your jaws, and also alternatives, such as getting a mouth guard to wear while sleeping. These alleviate much of the pain while you can separately address whatever is causing the stress and anxiety.
Do you sleep on your side or stomach? I’ve had that from sleeping oddly on my jaw.
@zenvelo Makes sense to me. Can cause loose teeth and cracks in the enamel also, get a night guard.
@Cupcake I have been sleeping on my back.
Sounds like the results of clenching your teeth at night. There are appliances that you can get that will help.
Also, can you do something to de-stress? Yoga? Other exercise? Meditations? Chamomile tea before bed?
I had this a lot during school. I got a sports mouth guard (like football players wear) and slept with it at night. It worked really well.
Sounds like stress headaches, the tight jaw could be from clinching down on your teeth from the stress you are under. I know I had the same symptoms I was extremely stressed out. You may want to in addition to using the suggestion @marinelife suggest but also call and see a therapist to get to the bottom of what is bothering you.
You are under stress and clenching your teeth while sleeping which is called bruxism. I was doing the same thing when a certain family member moved in then it stopped when they moved out.
I bet you’re grinding your teeth in your sleep.
If you drink caffeine try cutting way back and see if it makes a difference.
I agree it sounds like you might be grinding your teeth, but if this is a fairly new symptom, don’t forget to consider it as possibly related to other health problems you are having now. Sometimes health mysteries are a big puzzle and every symptom counts, even if they seem unrelated on the surface.
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