How to Address Teeth Grinding at Night

• Most people don’t even realize they have bruxism until the symptoms manifest — Mild teeth grinding or clenching is usually harmless. However, if it occurs frequently or becomes severe, it leads to jaw pain, tightness, fatigue, or recurring headaches. Your teeth are damaged as well, causing them to crack, loosen, or even fall out. Eventually, these symptoms become too severe to ignore.⁵

• There are many factors that can trigger this condition — In most cases, nighttime bruxism is related to sleep disorders like sleep apnea, sleep paralysis, and restless leg syndrome. However, there are other triggers, such as:^6,7

• Teeth grinding is common in children as well — In fact, research says that the condition is more common in childhood than adulthood, with around 5.9% to 49.6% of children having nighttime bruxism.⁸ It’s believed to be related to the process of tooth development.⁹

• Avoiding eating hard and sticky foods — Nuts, hard candies, popcorn, and even tough cuts of meat put additional strain on your jaw. When your muscles are already overworked from nighttime grinding, adding more mechanical stress during the day only compounds the issue. Sticky foods like peanut butter, nut butters, or certain candies like caramel create a similar problem — they prolong chewing and increase tension in the jaw.

• Stay hydrated — Dehydration causes dry mouth, which triggers teeth grinding, especially during sleep. Use thirst as a guide to how much water you need or check the color of your urine as a guide; if it is a deep, dark yellow then you likely are not drinking enough water, while a pale straw color or light yellow typically means you’re sufficiently hydrated.

• Cut the stimulants — Caffeinated drinks and alcohol interrupt your sleep cycles and overexcite your nervous system. Consuming them — even several hours before bed — increases nighttime jaw muscle activity. Instead of having a cup of coffee or a glass of wine, opt for herbal teas like chamomile or lavender, which are known to calm the nervous system and prepare your body for deep sleep.

• Another option is golden milk — While raw, grass fed milk is a great alternative for coffee or hot chocolate, consider taking it a notch higher by transforming it into golden milk. Essentially, this is plain milk enhanced with turmeric and other spices, like black pepper or cinnamon.

This combination works on two levels — the tryptophan in milk calms the nervous system, while turmeric has anti-inflammatory properties because of curcumin. Together, they ease your body into rest and reduce the muscle tension that often precedes bruxism episodes.

• Consume anti-inflammatory, antioxidant-rich foods — Jaw inflammation from chronic stress and grinding won’t resolve if your diet is high in processed foods and seed oils. Instead, opt for foods like berries and other fruits, cooked green vegetables, and wild-caught fish like salmon to support systemic healing. These ingredients fight oxidative stress and help bring your nervous system into a calmer, less reactive state.

• Magnesium helps relax the jaw — It also improves sleep quality and lowers your body’s stress response. There are also studies that associate vitamin deficiencies, including magnesium, with an increased risk of teeth grinding.^13,14

• There are healthy magnesium-rich foods you can add to your diet — Some foods to consider include leafy green vegetables like kale, spinach, and broccoli, whole grains and legumes.

• However, these foods alone are not enough to correct the deficiency — Modern farming practices strip minerals from the soil, meaning even magnesium-rich foods like leafy greens have significantly lower levels than they did 50 years ago. What’s more, magnesium-rich foods like nuts and seeds, which many consume to boost their intake of this nutrient, are loaded with linoleic acid (LA), which causes far more damage to your health.

• Consider supplementation — However, there are different types of magnesium supplements on the market, and they all work differently. My top three preferences are magnesium glycinate, magnesium malate, and magnesium L-threonate because they’re well-absorbed and easy on your digestive system.

• If you’re dealing with stress, anxiety, or sleep problems, consider magnesium glycinate — This form is bound to glycine, an amino acid that promotes relaxation. Magnesium glycinate is ideal for anyone who tends to be sensitive to supplements or who needs help unwinding and recovering at night. For more information on the different types of magnesium supplements, read “7 Types of Magnesium and How They Improve Your Health.”

• Stretch and reset your jaw muscles — Jaw stretching exercises are one of the simplest and most overlooked tools, as they help retrain your jaw to stay relaxed rather than clenched. Try this method:¹⁶

• Apply a hot compress — Heat helps relax your muscles, including your jaw. A hot towel compress, applied for 15 minutes on each side of your face, increases circulation and relaxes the facial muscles that tend to overfire during bruxism episodes. Do this before bedtime or during stressful moments throughout the day.

• Use essential oils — The healing, calming, and stress-relieving effects of herbal oils have long been known in the field of alternative health. Different essential oils offer varying benefits, however; for muscle tension and stress relief, consider using lavender oil. Chamomile, cedarwood, peppermint, and bergamot oils also offer excellent calming properties. Consider diffusing them in the air or applying them directly on your pressure points (make sure to dilute them in a safe carrier oil).

• Rewire your nervous system with acupuncture — For those who need a deeper intervention, this is a standout natural remedy. This ancient practice rooted in Chinese medicine works by stimulating points along the body that help rebalance your internal energy — particularly the parasympathetic nervous system. It targets areas that influence relaxation, helping ease the underlying tension.

Regular acupuncture sessions have been shown to lower stress, reduce the intensity of grinding episodes, and help improve sleep quality.

• Mindfulness meditation helps interrupt the stress pathway — It helps nurture your state of awareness and relaxation, so you’ll be able to identify what’s triggering your stress — and help you release it. Meditation also helps regulate your autonomic nervous system, which controls your involuntary habits, including grinding your teeth.

• Practicing meditation doesn’t need to be complicated — Simply sit in a quiet space and focus on your breath or a simple phrase. When your mind wanders, gently return your attention. Research shows that even short, consistent sessions slow your heart rate, reduce cortisol levels, and enhance sleep quality.

• One highly effective variation is sound-based meditation — Playing ocean waves, rainfall, or white noise while meditating helps calm your internal rhythms. These soothing tones support your transition into deeper states of relaxation before bed, making it harder for your body to slip into subconscious grinding patterns once you fall asleep.

• Try deep breathing — Taking slow, deep breaths shifts you out of fight-or-flight mode and into rest-and-digest mode. That’s exactly what you need if your jaw feels tight or locked up from the day. Try this technique — inhale through your nose for four seconds, hold for four, then exhale through your mouth for six to eight seconds. Repeat this for five minutes before bed.

• Yoga for physical and emotional release — Certain poses like Child’s Pose, Corpse Pose, and Downward-Facing Dog gently stretch your neck, jaw, and facial muscles — all of which tighten under stress. This kind of targeted stretching physically releases stored tension that feeds bruxism.

• Build a mindfulness routine that works — If you’re serious about stopping bruxism, mindfulness needs to be part of your daily rhythm. That might look like 10 minutes of breath-focused meditation in the morning, followed by a short yoga sequence in the evening. Or it might be as simple as a two-minute breathing reset before bed and a quick body scan when you wake up.

• Practice healthy dental habits — Regular brushing (using a nonfluoridated toothpaste), flossing and tongue scraping, along with getting regular cleanings with a mercury-free biological dentist, will go a long way toward keeping your teeth and gums healthy.

• Consider oil pulling as well — This is the practice of swishing oil around your mouth to “pull” and eliminate bacteria from your teeth and gums. This ancient technique is a valuable strategy to strengthen your oral health and help reduce the risk of tooth decay, bad breath and bleeding gums.

• Invest in a bite guard — This oral device provides a barrier between your upper teeth and lower teeth. It helps cushion your mouth from the damage caused by bruxism.