If you’re waking up tired this winter—mouth dry, groggy, maybe even a little sore throat—it’s not just age. And it’s not bad luck.
It’s your bedroom.
Most people don’t realize this, but winter air is destroying their sleep quality and setting up their mouth for cavities, gum inflammation, and worse. The heater runs all night. Humidity drops. Saliva production crashes during deep sleep. And by morning, your mouth has been a breeding ground for harmful bacteria for eight hours straight.
While you’re asleep, salivation drops to almost zero. Your mouth effectively becomes a desert!
And if there’s plaque, food particles, or acidity left behind from the day—coffee, wine, whatever—those 8 dry hours create the perfect conditions for demineralization and bacterial overgrowth.
But the damage is preventable…
My wife and I have dialed in a 15-minute bedtime routine that protects our oral health and optimizes our sleep. And I’m going to walk you through exactly what we do, step by step, so you can do the same.
If you’re serious about waking up rested, keeping your teeth and gums healthy, and not getting sick every time the temperature drops, this is worth reading.
Here’s the routine…
My Winter Bedtime Routine
1-2 Hours Before Bed:
Step 1: Electrolytes
Mix electrolytes (I like these ones before bed) in water. Winter air and heaters dehydrate you, and when you’re already dehydrated going into sleep, your mouth starts from a deficit. Proper mineral balance supports your salivary glands’ ability to produce protective saliva during waking hours and lighter sleep stages—critical for preventing cavities and gum disease.
Step 2: Magnesium
Take 500mg of this magnesium blend 1-2 hours before bed. Your salivary glands need magnesium to produce healthy saliva, and low magnesium equals dry mouth, poor sleep, and higher inflammation.
Right Before Bed:
Step 3: Floss
Use an electric flosser or flossing stick. During deep sleep, salivation drops to almost zero—you want your mouth as clean as possible so bacteria can’t cause demineralization while you’re dry.
Step 4: Tongue Scraping
Use a stainless steel tongue scraper. Get that biofilm out before bed because at night things dry out—why let it cake onto your tongue, teeth, and gums?
Step 5: Brush with NON-Mint Toothpaste
Don’t use spearmint or peppermint toothpaste before bed. Research published in the International Journal of Neuroscience shows menthol increases alertness by stimulating acetylcholine receptors and activating TRPM8 channels—it’s a central nervous system stimulant. I’m loving this flavor, especially since I avoid dessert or really any food at all for three hours before bed (very important for sleep quality). Brush, spit, but DON’T rinse with water—let those remineralizing compounds stay on your teeth all night.
Step 6: Insert Oral Appliance
My mandibular advancement device prevents snoring and breathing interruptions so I can access deep sleep. If you don’t have one but you snore or wake up tired, find a sleep dentist through AADSM.org or the Functional Dentist Directory who can make you one. (This is not an over-the-counter device.) To learn more, check out my book.
Step 7: Nasal Spray
One spray in each nostril clears and hydrates nasal passages so you can breathe through your nose all night. Nasal breathing = natural humidification = no dry mouth. The xylitol in this one feeds beneficial bacteria while starving harmful ones.
Step 8: Bee Propolis Throat Spray
Spray this throat spray in the back of your throat and let it coat to help reduce inflammation and help your immune system fight off respiratory infections while you sleep.
Step 9: Mouth Tape
I never sleep without mouth tape. This prevents mouth breathing overnight, which dries out the entire oral cavity, causing cavities and oral dysbiosis.
Step 10: Zinc (15-30mg)
Take zinc. Your salivary glands need zinc to function—without it, saliva production drops and your mouth becomes vulnerable.
Step 11: Eye Mask
Put on a sleep mask to block all ambient light—even tiny charging lights affect sleep scores. If you don’t want to wear a mask, block those lights with black stickers like these.
Step 12: Oura Ring on Airplane Mode
Switch your Oura ring (or any wearable) to airplane mode to minimize EMF exposure. It still tracks all your sleep data without the constant wireless signal.
Step 13: Box Breathing
If either my wife or I had a rough day, we’ll do a short box breathing session together, a long hug, and then bed.
Step 14: Consistency with Bedtime
Go to bed within minutes at the same time each night. Your mom was right—we need a strong ritual with no exceptions. Our internal circadian clocks affect our sleep quality more than we realize. Boring advice, but boy does it work!
Bedroom Setup:
65°F + Cracked Window
We keep our bedroom at 65°F or colder year-round and crack a window every night—even in winter. Cold air signals melatonin production for deeper sleep, and fresh air prevents the stuffy, stagnant feeling from heaters. Since we started this, our Oura scores jumped: higher deep sleep percentages, better HRV, sharper mornings. Heaters don’t just dry out your mouth—they rob you of quality sleep.
We also use this monitor to make sure our room stays below 600ppm. We check the reading when we wake up, and if it’s not below 600ppm, we make adjustments as needed for the following night (opening more windows, ceiling fan, etc.)
This Is the Difference Between Surviving Winter and Thriving Through It
This routine takes 15 minutes. The payoff is I wake up rested, my mouth feels hydrated, and I’m not fighting inflammation or getting sick every few weeks.
If you’re waking up with dry mouth, feeling groggy, or getting sick more often in winter, your body is telling you something needs to change.
Stay warm out there!
Mark
P.S. If you’re dealing with poor sleep, mouth breathing, or dry mouth, don’t ignore it.
Work with a myofunctional therapist to address the root cause. Small changes to your airway and breathing can transform your sleep quality and your health.
→ Find a functional dentist near you
→ Find an airway dentist near you
→ Find a myofunctional therapist near you