> > > Incidentally, does anyone know why one's normal voice is hoarser in the morning when you first wake up? Do you know anyone who DOESN'T wake up with a hoarse voice in the mornings?
> > >
> > > I've been wanting to ask this morning-horseyness question for five years now. Really! I've always wondered about that.
> > >
> > > Wolf "phlegmings make me laugh horsely" spirit
> >
> > Run a humidifier at night.
> >
> > -Faux "no horseys here" Pas
>
> I've never woken up with a hoarse throat unless I already have a cold. Looking at Faux Pas's answer, and Pennystamp Man's, maybe the reason is that you use air conditioning/central heating and we don't? The last thing we ever need in these parts is a machine to *add* humidity to the air.
>
> Brunnen-"it's still early enough into the winter rains for it to be a pleasant change instead of just annoying"G

Yes, I'm pretty sure now that all three of you are probably right about the humidity factor. I do live in a climate which can get quite dry, especially in the winter. Night-time dehydration may be a factor.

Perhaps I wasn't exactly clear -- the "hoarse morning voice" I was talking about isn't really hoarseness per se, but the kind of "sleepy voice" you get upon wakening... i.e., a person's voice is sort of slower, uneven, and perhaps higher-pitched and breathier than usual. You often hear this in movies when the character's role is to be asleep in bed; then the phone rings by the nighttable, only to be answered with a slurred mumble, "Hell-oOO?"

I don't think you can explain the curious quality of the "I-just-woke-up" vocal tone as being due entirely to a person's grogginess.

Wolf "puzzled" spirit