Female, 21 yo, healthy BMI (not overweight).
Since I started cutting back on my eating window (currently doing 20:4), for some reason I’ve started to grind my teeth in my sleep.
It’s as if the longer fasting time makes my body anxious, if that makes sense? So it tries to release the tension? It’s very automatic, I just notice I’m clenching my teeth whilst falling asleep and even though I really do try to control it, my partner keeps telling me I grind in my sleep. I’m super concerned because I don’t want to destroy my teeth. :(
Can fasting raise body’s anxiety/stress levels or something? How to combat this without changing my fasting schedule?
(please just don’t tell me to get a night guard, I wore a retainer as a child and absolutely hate any thought of sleeping with a big piece of plastic/rubber/whatever in my mouth)
I’m a dentist and do OMAD. Any life change can cause stress so until you get used to this new fasting window, you need to protect your teeth. Get a night guard. One product made by Plackers is unobtrusive and relatively inexpensive. It’s called Grind No More. Give it a shot. My patients tolerate it very well.