WEBVTT - Why Do We Get Morning Breath? 0:00:02.040 --> 0:00:07.640 Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey, they're 0:00:07.680 --> 0:00:10.600 brain stuffers. Have you ever woken up seen someone else 0:00:10.640 --> 0:00:14.400 and have them say, hey, Christian, your breath smells like 0:00:14.440 --> 0:00:18.040 a hot bathroom. You might respond by saying, wow, that 0:00:18.160 --> 0:00:21.040 was totally uncalled for. Everyone's got bad breath first thing 0:00:21.079 --> 0:00:23.960 in the morning. But then this hypothetical person who's calling 0:00:24.000 --> 0:00:27.720 you by my name for some reason says, everyone, Okay, 0:00:27.880 --> 0:00:31.560 prove its smart guy, why do we get morning breath? Well, 0:00:31.760 --> 0:00:34.239 if you find yourself in this situation, here's how I 0:00:34.280 --> 0:00:37.520 recommend that you proceed. You can start by telling them 0:00:37.520 --> 0:00:40.800 that bad breath in general is caused by all kinds 0:00:40.840 --> 0:00:44.960 of things. Obviously, what you ingest, like garlic, onions or 0:00:45.000 --> 0:00:48.720 alcohol can contribute. Their strong odors go through your blood 0:00:48.760 --> 0:00:52.040 stream and are exhaled by your lungs. And some bad 0:00:52.080 --> 0:00:56.560 breath is caused by systemic infections or something gross in 0:00:56.600 --> 0:01:00.400 your lungs or gastro intestinal tract. May be it's a 0:01:00.480 --> 0:01:04.039 dental problem like gum disease or trapped food particles under 0:01:04.040 --> 0:01:08.240 a broken filling. Even sinus infections and diabetes can give 0:01:08.280 --> 0:01:13.319 you bad breath, but the most likely culprit is bacteria. 0:01:13.360 --> 0:01:16.720 There are millions of bacteria just in your mouth, and 0:01:16.760 --> 0:01:21.840 these little living beings excrete teensy tiny bits of waste 0:01:21.920 --> 0:01:26.119 with a pungent odor. This is what usually makes your 0:01:26.120 --> 0:01:30.320 breath smell bad, especially in the morning. The reason why 0:01:30.440 --> 0:01:33.280 it's worst in the morning is dry mouth. When your 0:01:33.319 --> 0:01:37.560 mouth is wet, saliva washes away and controls bacteria with oxygen. 0:01:37.959 --> 0:01:40.720 But when it's dry, like when you first wake up, 0:01:40.959 --> 0:01:45.720 these bacteria just hang out like disgusting couch potatoes. They 0:01:45.760 --> 0:01:51.040 devour compounds, proteins, amino acids, and any leftover food in 0:01:51.120 --> 0:01:56.360 your mouth. The wastes they excrete are called volatile sulfur 0:01:56.400 --> 0:02:01.600 compounds v scs for short, and they're comprised of hydrogen sulfide, 0:02:01.960 --> 0:02:06.080 methyl mer captain, and dime methyl sulfide. All of these 0:02:06.440 --> 0:02:09.960 stink like an old sock soaked in the juice of 0:02:10.080 --> 0:02:14.400 rotten meat. So when you're asleep, you're producing less saliva 0:02:14.520 --> 0:02:18.160 to control these nasty bacteria smells. There's not much we 0:02:18.160 --> 0:02:21.519 can do about it happening, but brushing your teeth, flossing, 0:02:21.680 --> 0:02:25.000 and you know, drinking water before bed will help reduce 0:02:25.040 --> 0:02:27.560 the amount of compounds of the bacteria can feast on. 0:02:28.080 --> 0:02:30.720 Brushing again first thing in the morning wouldn't hurt either, 0:02:30.919 --> 0:02:33.639 So I guess what I'm saying here is brush your teeth. 0:02:38.960 --> 0:02:40.960 Check out the brain stuff channel on YouTube, and for 0:02:41.040 --> 0:02:43.480 more on this and thousands of other topics, visit how 0:02:43.520 --> 0:02:58.079 stuff works dot com.