@mattyb
I am fit with low bodyweight and bodyfat %. However i wake up with a dry mouth and sometimes a headache too. I told my doc about this who says it must be my sleeping position (side or stomach). Is there any truth to this?
honestly same, I wake up with a drymouth practically every morning. Could be partial mouth-breathing if my nose is stuffy, but I doubt it.
If you are waking up with a headache + dry mouth it is much more likely to be dehydration. If this occuring during the fast, than that is pretty normal because your electrolyte levels are depleted which causes some dehydration.
Dry mouth can be caused by mouth breathing during sleep as well. Sleeping on the side of your head can close off one nostril, which will make it harder to breathe and make it more likely to mouth breathe, but most people who sleep on their sides don't have any issues. Sleeping on your back can cause some people's airways to collapse as well, which will often force them to gasp for air out of their mouth. So the main take-away is that you want good airflow when you are sleeping.
If you have any consistent nasal congestion issues that make it a bit harder to breathe, just start using saline nasal spray before bed to lubricate the nasal passages and open them up. If there is something like polyps getting in the way, you can always take a corticosteroid spray, or a safer alternative might be something like a xylitol nasal spray.
The air is super dry where I live, so nasal sprays are really useful especially during winter. Sometimes if my nose is particularly congested and I forgot to use saline spray I will breathe through my mouth when I sleep - my mouth gets so dry that my teeth can hurt the next morning.
