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Tongue biting in your sleep could be a serious warning sign. We all know the sharp pain that feels when we unexpectedly bite our tongue.
Made up of delicate nerve and muscle fibers with four different types of taste buds spread across its surface, the tongue is highly attuned to sensory stimuli.
From time to time, we can accidentally dig our teeth into our tongue while chewing or speaking. And while it’s not always a cause for concern, there are cases where tongue biting could be a sign of a seizure disorder if it occurs regularly during sleep, reports Healthline.
Tongue biting in your sleep can be a serious warning sign
Known as nocturnal seizures, the involuntary contraction or weakening of the muscles that characterize the condition most often occurs:
- right after falling asleep
- before waking up
- shortly after waking up.
Although the cause of nocturnal seizures is not always clear, it stems from abnormal electrical activity in the brain, and tongue biting is one of the primary symptoms.
People with this condition may also be unable to control their bladder or experience increases in the frequency of attacks during the day due to disrupted sleep at night.
Diseases associated with nocturnal convulsions
People with certain types of seizure disorders may be more prone to nocturnal seizures. Cedars Sinai explains that this includes, but is not limited to:
- frontal lobe epilepsy,
- juvenile myoclonic epilepsy,
- awakening tonic-clonic seizures (also called grand mal seizures).
The sides and tip of the tongue are most often bitten during nocturnal seizures. If you experience this potential warning sign, it is important to consult with your doctor about treatment methods.
The discoveries of a study from 2017 published as “Epilepsy” suggests that people with nocturnal seizures are more susceptible to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) due to severe decreases in oxygen levels (hypoxia) and suppression of brain activity that occur after seizures.
These patients are more than twice as likely to experience SUDEP as people who experience only daytime seizures and are at least twenty times more vulnerable than the general population.
To intervene safely, it is important to recognize the signs of seizures in both children and adults.
Diagnosis and treatment of nocturnal seizures
To confirm a diagnosis of nocturnal seizures, patients will need to undergo a sleep study where hospital staff can monitor brain activity overnight.
In addition to determining the type, frequency, and severity of seizures, doctors will also need to consider the patient’s age and medical history when deciding on the appropriate form of treatment.
Medications are often prescribed along with recommended healthy habits, such as prioritizing sleep and adhering to the ketogenic diet. Experts at the Cleveland Clinic explain that the keto diet involves a low sugar intake with a high fat intake, which affects brain activity in a way that minimizes seizures.
If medications are ineffective, a vagus nerve stimulator may also be surgically inserted into the chest to send electrical signals to the brain.
If you develop a fever, swelling, excessive bleeding, or signs of infection after biting your tongue, go to the nearest emergency room.
Source: www.doctorulzilei.ro
