I just took a 3 hour nap, and I still woke up with a sore jaw. This stuff recently started, and it's been really been makin' my waking up painful. I don't really know what to do to relax my jaw when I'm sleeping. I mean...I'm sleeping...what can I do?Bruxism is clenching or grinding your teeth, often without being aware that your are doing it. In the United States, bruxism affects an estimated 30 to 40 million children and adults.
Some people grind their teeth only during sleep; this condition is called "nocturnal bruxism" or "sleep-related bruxism." Others grind their teeth during the daytime as well, most often during situations that make them feel tense or anxious. People with severe bruxism can fracture dental fillings or cause other types of tooth damage. Severe bruxism has also been blamed for some cases of temporomandibular joint dysfunction (TMD), mysterious morning headaches and unexplained facial pain.
Bruxism can have a variety of psychological and physical causes. In many cases, it has been linked to stress, but it can also simply be the body's reaction to the teeth being aligned wrong or a poor bite (the way the teeth come together).
Anybody clench their jaw while they sleep? Or do any other unconscious disruptive things while they sleep?