What Is Mouth Taping, and Does It Help Treat Snoring or Sleep Apnea

Mouth taping involves applying a piece of tape over your lips before bedtime, with the aim of encouraging nasal breathing. Is this technique grounded in science or just a passing fad?
Mouth taping is a home remedy that’s supposed to help treat mouth breathing when you sleep. Mouth breathing itself is associated with numerous health conditions, including snoring, allergies, and oral health.

While some people online swear by taping their mouths as a solution to mouth breathing, the science behind this technique is lacking. Furthermore, there may be some unintentional side effects to contend with.
If you’re wondering whether mouth taping is a viable fad, here’s what you need to know about the potential benefits and risks behind it.

How does mouth taping work?
The process behind mouth taping works exactly as it sounds: You literally tape your mouth shut before you go to sleep.
If you’re a regular mouth breather, then in theory, you should automatically breathe through your nose if you’re not able to through your mouth.
While you might need to breathe through your mouth occasionally during exercise or if you have nasal congestion, it’s important to breathe through your nose as much as possible. Nose breathing helps to:
• lubricate your nostrils and prevent your sinuses from drying out
• make the air you breathe in more humid, which can help chronic lung diseases like asthma
• balance out pH levels in your mouth, preventing dental decay, dry mouth, and gingivitis
• increase your intake of nitric oxide, which is crucial for brain function, cardiovascular health, and overall blood oxygen levels
• decreasing your chance of snoring

While sometimes marketed as a potential sleep apnea treatment, mouth taping itself may not help treat the pauses in breathing that are associated with this condition.
Side effects and risks of mouth taping
While the benefits of breathing through your nose have been well established, there are also potential side effects associated with mouth taping.
You also shouldn’t use this method if you have severe nasal congestion from allergies or illnesses.

Talk to a doctor about the following risks of mouth taping:
• skin irritation on your lips and around the mouth
• sticky residue left over the next day
• insomnia and sleep disruptions

It’s also important to remember that any benefits seen from mouth taping are based on anecdotal evidence only. To date, there haven’t been any clinical studies done to prove this technique treats any underlying health condition.

Side effects of mouth breathing
Overall, taping your mouth purportedly helps prevent some of the side effects of mouth breathing, including:
• asthma symptom exacerbations, such as nighttime coughing
• dental conditions, such as dry mouth, bleeding gums, teeth grinding, and cavities
• high blood pressure
• increased heart rate
• sleep apnea, which can then increase your risk of daytime drowsiness and cardiovascular diseases
• sleep disturbances, which may cause you to frequently wake up at night and miss out on much-needed deep sleep cycles
• sore throat

Mouth breathing is also said to increase inflammation in your body. Chronic inflammation is associated with long-term consequences, including:
• cardiovascular disease
• cancers
• decreased cognitive function
• type 2 diabetes
• weight gain and obesity