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Symptom · sleep

Enough sleep, and still not rested.

“I actually get enough sleep.” “I need two hours to get going in the morning.” “I’m not ill, I’m just always tired.” If one of these sentences sounds familiar, what is usually missing is not sleep but recovery. On this page we set out what is known about it, and what is not.

How unrefreshing sleep shows itself

Unrefreshing sleep is rarely the complaint someone comes with. It hides in passing remarks. We see four forms again and again:

  • Falling asleep works, staying asleep does not. You wake up at night, often between two and four o’clock, without knowing why.
  • Your sleep is long enough and still doesn’t carry you. You get up more tired than when you went to bed.
  • The morning is the worst time of day. A headache on waking, a stiff neck, a dry mouth, a blocked nose.
  • Your energy doesn’t last until the evening. Not tiredness after exertion, but exhaustion without exertion.

A simple test: don’t ask yourself whether you sleep well. Ask yourself how you wake up.

What connects breathing, sleep and the jaw

The common denominator of breathing and sleep is the supply of oxygen. That a lack of oxygen impairs metabolism and available energy is basic knowledge. There are studies on the individual connections in between:

  • Mouth breathing and sleep quality. In children who breathe through the mouth, studies more often found signs of breathing disorders at night and lower oxygen saturation during sleep.
  • Lower jaw and airway. The position of the lower jaw and of the tongue affect how wide the upper airway is.
  • Sleep and pain. Fragmented sleep can increase sensitivity to pain; how much depends on how long and how often sleep is disturbed.
  • Sleep and CMD. In reviews, people with poor sleep quality more often have CMD.

Add to this what many people know: grinding and clenching at night and constantly tense jaw muscles stop the body from resting at night.

What is established, and what is not. To be honest: The individual connections above have been studied, some only in children and as an association, not as a cause. This does not say whether the jaw system is the reason for your exhaustion personally. In an individual case, that is an assumption that only an examination and the further course can support or reject. That is why we don’t tell you that you will sleep better after treatment.

See a doctor first

When you should see a doctor first. Tiredness has many causes. With these signs you need a medical assessment first, not CMD diagnostics:

  • Suspected sleep apnoea: relatives notice pauses in breathing, loud irregular snoring, microsleeps during the day: see a sleep medicine specialist.
  • Suspected depression: waking very early, brooding, loss of drive and interest, low in the morning: see your GP.
  • Suspected thyroid disease: sensitivity to cold or heat, weight change, hair loss, palpitations: see your GP.
  • Suspected anaemia or iron deficiency: paleness, shortness of breath on exertion, restless legs, hair loss: see your GP.
  • This is not a formality; it is the point where order matters.

Where the jaw system comes in

We do not treat sleep disorders. We examine the jaw system in people who have several complaints that CMD may be behind, and unrefreshing sleep is often one of them, together with morning headaches, neck tension or grinding.

The CMD System Check measures, among other things, how your lower jaw moves and how your muscles work. We tell you what is measured and how you can notice yourself whether something is changing, for example by how you wake up and whether morning headaches become less frequent. If nothing unusual shows up in the jaw system, we tell you just as clearly.

You can take the first step in two minutes with the CMD self-test.

Frequently asked questions

Frequently asked questions

Your question is not here? Ask us directly.

Do you treat sleep disorders or sleep apnoea?

No, not as a service of its own. We examine the jaw system in people with several complaints that CMD may be behind. Unrefreshing sleep is often one of them. Suspected sleep apnoea needs a sleep medicine assessment first.

Will I sleep better after CMD treatment?

We cannot promise that to anyone. The examination shows whether the jaw plays a role for you, and the course shows whether anything changes. We tell you what is measured and how you can notice yourself whether something is changing.

When should tiredness go to a doctor first?

With observed pauses in breathing, loud irregular snoring or microsleeps during the day; with early waking, brooding and loss of drive; with sensitivity to cold or heat, weight change or hair loss; with paleness, shortness of breath on exertion or restless legs.

Does the jaw system play a role for you?

No obligation, with an immediate first assessment.

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