Do you get a dry mouth when you're nervous? Here's how to fix it
Clinically reviewed by Dr. Chris Mosunic, PhD, RD, MBA
Have you ever been about to walk into an interview or meet someone new, and suddenly your mouth’s drier than the Sahara desert? Us too.
Dry mouth often goes hand in hand with feeling nervous because anxiety can shut down your saliva production. This usually happens because your body’s preparing for a perceived “threat” — even if that threat is just an uncomfortable conversation or a high-stakes presentation at work. It’s inconvenient but totally normal.
If your mouth is getting a little dry just reading this, never fear! There are simple ways you can manage this annoying symptom and also help calm your nerves.
Why do I get a dry mouth when I’m anxious?
Evolution is a wonderful thing, but its adaptations aren’t always convenient in our modern lives. Long ago, when humans felt nervous facing bears, wolves, and mountain lions, our fight-or-flight response came in really handy. The sympathetic nervous system would flood our ancestors’ bodies with stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline which prepared them to fight or flee.
These hormones help make the heart pump faster and sharpen focus, but they also redirect the body’s resources to “essential” functions like making sure muscles are ready to run or throw punches. Saliva production is sadly not a top priority when you’re in survival mode, so your mouth dries up.
In today’s world, this flood of hormones still happens, even if you’re anxious over something small. This means your evolved brain might not really know the difference between a bear attack and a nerve-wracking first date. And it also means your mouth can go dry before giving a big presentation at work, even if you’re well prepared.
On top of it all, when you’re anxious, you tend to breathe through your mouth more — especially if you’re taking quick, shallow breaths. This type of breathing usually dries your mouth out even more, which is why nervousness can leave you feeling like you have cotton-mouth.
Other symptoms of anxiety
When your body flips into fight-or-flight mode, this chain reaction of physical responses is designed to help you survive — even if the only thing you’re trying to survive is a mildly stressful conversation.
Here are some other common ways anxiety can show up in your body, besides experiencing dry mouth:
Rapid heartbeat or palpitations: Your heart starts pounding like you just sprinted up a flight of stairs, even if you’re just standing completely still.
Shortness of breath: Anxiety can make your breathing shallow and fast, sometimes to the point where you feel like you can’t get enough air.
Excessive sweating: When you’re anxious, your body tends to think that you’re in danger and wants to keep you cool hence why you suddenly get sweaty.
Dizziness or lightheadedness: If you start to breathe really fast, your oxygen levels can get a little off-balance and make you feel woozy.
Upset stomach or nausea: Nervousness could possibly mess with your digestion and cause you to feel butterflies, nausea, or feel like you have to go to the bathroom immediately.
Muscle tension or shaking: Your muscles might tense up, your hands might shake, or your legs might feel wobbly when you get anxious to prepare you to flee or fight.
10 home remedies for dry mouth
If anxiety has turned your mouth into a barren wasteland, there are some simple and practical ways you can get moisture back into your mouth.
1. Sip water regularly: It sounds obvious, but when your mouth suddenly feels dry, a sip of water can be an instant relief. Try to keep a water bottle handy and take small, frequent sips rather than chugging. Your body tends to absorb hydration better that way.
2. Keep sugar-free gum or lozenges handy: Chewing gum or sucking on a lozenge can help trick your body into producing more saliva.
3. Breathe through your nose: If you catch yourself breathing through your mouth—especially when you’re anxious—try to close your lips and shift to nasal breathing.
4. Avoid caffeine and alcohol: Caffeine and alcohol can both be dehydrating, which means they can make dry mouth even worse. To help give back some moisture in your mouth, try balancing caffeine and alcohol with extra water.
5. Use a humidifier: If the air in your home or office is dry, a humidifier can help add much-needed moisture back into the air — and into your mouth.
6. Try xylitol-based products: Xylitol can help encourage saliva production. Look for gum, mints, or mouth sprays that contain xylitol to help combat your dryness.
7. Avoid overly salty or spicy foods: Salty and spicy foods can suck the moisture right out of your mouth. If you’re already dealing with dryness, it might be best to save the hot sauce for another day.
8. Stay away from drying mouthwashes: Some mouthwashes contain alcohol, which can make your dry mouth worse. Instead, opt for an alcohol-free version or look for one that’s designed to combat dry mouth.
9. Sip on herbal tea: Certain herbal teas like chamomile, ginger, and slippery elm can help soothe your mouth and keep you hydrated at the same time.
10. Try a dry mouth spray or gel: If you need fast relief, over-the-counter dry mouth sprays or gels could help provide moisture and a little extra comfort. Plus, these can be especially handy if dry mouth is a frequent issue for you.
How to relieve nervousness: 10 tips to calm anxiety
Since dry mouth is basically your body’s way of alerting you that you’re stressed, a great way to stop it from happening is to calm your nervous system. This is a lot easier said than done, but there are still some simple strategies you can add to your life so that you experience dry mouth a little less.
Here are 10 tips that can help you dial down nervousness in your day-to-day.
1. Practice deep breathing
As discussed, when you’re anxious, your breathing tends to get fast and shallow, which can make things worse. To help calm you down, try the 4–7–8 breathing technique by inhaling through your nose for four seconds, holding your breath for seven seconds, and then exhaling slowly through your mouth for eight seconds.
Here are 10 other breathing techniques you can try if this type of practice is calling your name.
2. Try five-finger breathing
This simple mindfulness exercise uses both touch and breath to help bring you back to the present moment. Practice by holding one hand out in front of you and spreading your fingers. Then, use the index finger of your other hand to slowly trace up and down each finger as you breathe.
As you trace up one side of your finger, inhale. Then, as you trace down the other side, exhale. As much as possible, try to move through all five fingers at a steady pace.
3. Engage your senses
When your nervous system is on high alert, grounding yourself with sensory experiences can really help make a difference. Some actions you could try are to sip warm tea, hold an ice cube, and sniff essential oils like lavender or peppermint.
💙 Listen to Tour Your Sense with Dr. Eric López to help you get a little more present in your body.
4. Move your body
Movement can help burn off excess stress hormones, which can help make you feel better. This doesn’t mean you have to hit the gym mid-panic, it just means trying to move a little when you feel anxious. You could take a quick walk, do some stretches, or shake out your hands.
To help you relieve some stress, here are five simple yoga stretches you could try.
5. Challenge anxious thoughts
Anxiety loves to whisper worst-case scenarios in your ear. To help take the edge off, consider asking yourself, “Is this thought 100% true?” the next time you feel anxious or nervous.
Also, try to remind yourself as much as possible that feelings are not facts. Sometimes, just questioning anxious thoughts can really help to shake them off.
💙 Consider listening to Reframing Anxious Thoughts with Kate Johnson if your brain’s not being your friend right now.
6. Talk it out
Saying your worries out loud to a friend, therapist, or even a voice note on your phone can help make them feel a little less overwhelming. Plus, connection can be one of the best ways to calm your nervous system. There’s no need to feel embarrassed or ashamed. The people who love you will want to be there for you.
7. Try progressive muscle relaxation
If your anxiety shows up as tension, try progressive muscle relaxation by tensing one muscle group at a time for a few seconds and then slowly releasing that tension.
Keep going and move through different areas of your body, like your shoulders, legs, jaw, etc. This technique usually helps to signal to your body that it’s okay to relax.
8. Create a “calm kit” and keep it handy
Have a few go-to items ready for when anxiety hits. You could consider having a playlist of soothing music, a favorite book, a fidget toy, or a small piece of chocolate to savor mindfully.
When you have something comforting on hand, this can help ground you when you’re feeling on edge.
9. Laugh (even if you don’t feel like it)
You’ve probably heard that laughter is the best medicine, and in this case, it’s actually true! Laughing can help tell your brain to relax by giving it something else to focus on. To help reset your mood, try watching a funny video or texting a friend that makes you crack up.
10. Remind yourself: This will pass
Anxiety can feel overwhelming, but it’s only temporary. The discomfort of dry mouth, the racing heart, and the shaky hands are all just your body’s way of reacting to stress. (Remember the bears and wolves?)
Try to remind yourself that this feeling will fade, and you will be okay. And when you’re in the middle of an anxiety cycle, these eight tips can help you overcome them.
Dry mouth and nervousness FAQs
Can stress cause dry mouth even when I’m not feeling anxious?
Chronic stress can keep your nervous system in a low-level state of fight-or-flight, even when you’re just going about your day. This means that even if you don’t feel outright anxious all the time, your body might still be producing stress hormones that interfere with your saliva production.
Over time, this prolonged stress can possibly affect how your body regulates moisture, which may lead to dry mouth.
If this is happening to you on a regular basis, it could be a sign that your body’s carrying more tension than you realize, and finding small ways to relax throughout the day could help.
What’s the best way to get rid of dry mouth fast?
Here are some easy ways to help you get rid of dry mouth quickly:
Sip water: Preferably drink water in small and steady amounts rather than gulping it all at once.
Chew sugar-free gum or suck on a lozenge: This can kickstart your saliva and help ease dryness.
Swish water around your mouth: In a bind, swallowing water can quickly help coat your mouth.
Keep xylitol gum or alcohol-free mouth spray around: This can come in handy in an emergency.
Can dry mouth make anxiety worse?
Unfortunately, when your mouth suddenly feels dry, it can cause you to have even more anxiety and make you hyper-aware of the sensation.
Also, if you experience social anxiety, dry mouth can feel especially uncomfortable because it can make speaking more difficult. The good news is that once you recognize this cycle, it is possible to interrupt it.
Instead of panicking about your dry mouth, try to remind yourself that it’s just a temporary response to stress. Then, try drinking water or breathing through your nose to help your body reset.
Is dry mouth a trauma response?
Dry mouth can be a trauma response. Trauma, especially unresolved trauma, can sometimes keep your nervous system on high alert, making your fight-or-flight responses a little more common — even when you’re in non-threatening situations.
If your body’s constantly bracing for danger, this can lead to symptoms like dry mouth, tension, digestive issues, and difficulty relaxing. Also, for some people, dry mouth might be just one of the ways their body holds onto past stress. If this sounds familiar to you, working with a therapist or exploring trauma-informed relaxation techniques could be helpful in addressing the root cause and not just the symptom.
What is the 3 3 3 rule for anxiety?
The 3–3–3 rule is a simple grounding technique that can help pull you out of an anxious spiral and back into the present moment. Here’s how to do it:
Look around you and name three things you see.
Listen closely and identify three things you hear.
Move three parts of your body.
This technique tends to work by forcing your brain to shift focus away from your anxious thoughts and onto tangible and sensory experiences. It can be a great tool to have in your back pocket for those moments when anxiety hits out of the blue.
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