Why Do We Get Morning Breath?

Every morning we wake up with bad breath. What does bacteria and a lack of saliva have to do with it?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, they're
brain stuffers. Have you ever woken up seen someone else
and have them say, hey, Christian, your breath smells like
a hot bathroom. You might respond by saying, wow, that
was totally uncalled for. Everyone's got bad breath first thing
in the morning. But then this hypothetical person who's calling

(00:24):
you by my name for some reason says, everyone, Okay,
prove its smart guy, why do we get morning breath? Well,
if you find yourself in this situation, here's how I
recommend that you proceed. You can start by telling them
that bad breath in general is caused by all kinds
of things. Obviously, what you ingest, like garlic, onions or

(00:45):
alcohol can contribute. Their strong odors go through your blood
stream and are exhaled by your lungs. And some bad
breath is caused by systemic infections or something gross in
your lungs or gastro intestinal tract. May be it's a
dental problem like gum disease or trapped food particles under
a broken filling. Even sinus infections and diabetes can give

(01:08):
you bad breath, but the most likely culprit is bacteria.
There are millions of bacteria just in your mouth, and
these little living beings excrete teensy tiny bits of waste
with a pungent odor. This is what usually makes your
breath smell bad, especially in the morning. The reason why

(01:30):
it's worst in the morning is dry mouth. When your
mouth is wet, saliva washes away and controls bacteria with oxygen.
But when it's dry, like when you first wake up,
these bacteria just hang out like disgusting couch potatoes. They
devour compounds, proteins, amino acids, and any leftover food in

(01:51):
your mouth. The wastes they excrete are called volatile sulfur
compounds v scs for short, and they're comprised of hydrogen sulfide,
methyl mer captain, and dime methyl sulfide. All of these
stink like an old sock soaked in the juice of
rotten meat. So when you're asleep, you're producing less saliva

(02:14):
to control these nasty bacteria smells. There's not much we
can do about it happening, but brushing your teeth, flossing,
and you know, drinking water before bed will help reduce
the amount of compounds of the bacteria can feast on.
Brushing again first thing in the morning wouldn't hurt either,
So I guess what I'm saying here is brush your teeth.

(02:38):
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