Brush Your Teeth and Stay Awake

The typical bedtime routine is “brush your teeth and go to bed.”  Unfortunately, the act of brushing my teeth is too invigorating for me to do right before bedtime.  Sometimes I’d skip brushing my teeth at night because I felt it would ruin my sleep cycle.

At first I figured that the problem was with the mint flavor of the toothpaste.  So I bought and used bubblegum-flavored toothpaste.  Alas I still felt revived after using it.  And this was very disappointing because I spent a long time to find toothpaste that’s not minty.

Then I figured the effect was because the water was so cold.  The bathroom is located a bit far from the water heater, and I’m too impatient and too much of a cheapskate to keep the hot water valve open to purge the cold water in that line.  So then I decided to brush my teeth at the kitchen sink, which is right over the water heater and next to the dishwasher.  It was easy to get warm water to rinse my mouth out with.  But then I realized what the real problem is.

The real problem is that the sensation of the nylon bristles rubbing against my gums drives away stupor.  So even eliminating toothpaste and cold water doesn’t help.  The problem remains with the very act of brushing!

But I do wonder why we have an over abundance of mint-flavored toothpaste.  Is it to counteract a sense of nausea?  Or to ensure fresh breath?

Maybe I'm not the only adult that relies on children's toothpaste.  Could this be an untapped market?