(upbeat music)
- Hey there, this is Brain Stuff,
and I'm Josh Clark, and
this is the Brain Stuff
where I explain to you
what morning breath is.
Pretty much all bad breath and all odors
from all humans come from a
couple of different things,
eating and being sick.
Some of the foods we eat
are actually pungent enough
to make it through
digestion and be absorbed
into the bloodstream
and then into the lungs,
and ultimately exhaled.
Think of onions and garlic.
But there's one thing that
can give you bad breath,
systemic conditions like diabetes
or a lower respiratory tract infection
can also give you bad breath,
and particles of food
that get trapped between
your gums and your teeth can give you
pretty bad breath as well.
At the root of all this,
though, is bacteria.
Whether it's from breaking
down food in our guts
or breaking down food
particles in our teeth,
or warding off an infection,
bacteria can create
really, really big smells.
As bacteria go to work
breaking down proteins,
amino acids, and all biological material
that they ferment as food,
they produce waste products
called Volatile Sulfur Compounds, or VSCs.
VSCs are composed of things
like hydrogen sulfide,
methyl mercaptan, and dimethyl sulfide,
all of which pack terrible smells.
And when they combine together
into a super smell, stand back.
But why is all this so
much worse in the morning?
Which is to say, what's the
deal with morning breath?
The answer, it turns out, is dry mouth.
When you sleep, you
produce much less saliva
than you do normally,
like when you're awake,
and saliva combats bad breath two ways.
One, it simply washes away food particles
giving bacteria less food
to eat and break down
and turn smelly, and also, using oxygen,
it combats the number of
bacteria present in your mouth.
Both of those things together
create a one-two punch
that keeps you from smelling all the time.
When it's dry, though,
these particles hang around
and give you terrible,
terrible morning breath.
Now, don't be alarmed,
morning breath is normal,
but there are some measures you can take
to mellow out your morning breath.
For example, you can brush
and floss like a normal
human being before going to bed.
You can also just drink a
glass of water before bedtime.
It'll help wash out
any nastiness in there.
And, would it kill to brush
your teeth first thing
in the morning?
I don't think so.
So, tell us, do you get
terrible morning breath?
Is it worse than average?
Let us know in the comments below,
and don't forget to
subscribe while you're here,
and hang out with us at
our super cool website,
brainstuffshow.com.
