I had trouble for years with both sleep apnoea and bruxing in my sleep. I tried all sorts, from mouthguards to oximeter alarms, and nothing really helped, if a

I had trouble for years with both sleep apnoea and bruxing in my sleep. I tried all sorts, from mouthguards to oximeter alarms, and nothing really helped, if anything, they generally worsened my sleep - I'm a light sleeper at the best of times. A visit to the doctor revealed that I was pre-diabetic, and he advised that I shed some weight - I was 250lbs, and I brought myself down to 180lbs over about six months. The sleep apnoea and bruxism both went away with the weight, and a decade on, haven't returned. I suspect that the additional weight was making my airway collapse in the night, and that would then result in me bruxing as I quietly asphyxiated in my sleep, before I'd wake up gasping in a puddle of sweat. I had thought for the longest time that the root cause was stress, and that it was therefore untreatable without major lifestyle changes which weren't tenable at the time - but the stress went on for years after I lost the weight, without bruxing or apnoea. I suppose, at root, the stress was the cause, as I sure as hell comfort ate my way out of my misery and into size 40 jeans. I do, once in a blue moon, still do the choke and grind routine, but it's usually only if I've gone to bed really quite drunk. Obviously this isn't a one-size-fits-all solution, as sleep apnoea and bruxism can be brought about by any number of causes, but this was a solution for me, and might be for others who are in the same situation I was in.