Mouth taping has been around for a long time but it’s become popularised on social media with more and more people trying it out
Do you wake up with a dry mouth or throat in the morning, gasping for a drink of water?
Chances are you sleep with your mouth open or do something known as mouth breathing. And while this is not necessarily something to be worried about, there are many people who believe it is linked to various issues like snoring or bad breath.
This is where mouth taping comes in. The practice is exactly as it sounds – you literally tape your mouth closed in order to make yourself breathe through your nose while you sleep.
There are many health benefits to breathing through your nose:
- It can filter out dust and allergens
- It boosts oxygen uptake and humidifies the air you breathe
- It reduces the risk of a sore throat
- It lowers blood pressure
- It reduces anxiety
In the same regard, the disadvantages of mouth breathing include an increased risk of bad breath, snoring, tooth decay and coughing. However, sometimes it’s unavoidable – for example, if you have nasal congestion, a deviated septum or very small nostrils.
Mouth breathing
We spoke to sleep expert Lucy Wolfe about how mouth-breathing can affect your sleep.
“There’s an Irish doctor, Dr Patrick McKeown, and he is a huge proponent of ‘breathing pure’ because in terms of ancient wisdom, let’s call it, mouth breathing is devolution, basically,” she said. “We’re meant to breathe through our noses, it’s a filter and now that’s changed because we’ve changed how we operate, how we eat, how we live. We’ve turned into mouth breathers and there is a school of thought that suggests that that’s what’s making us sick, tired and all of those things.”
When it comes to mouth taping Lucy says it’s all about understanding why you’re doing it.
“Some people are doing it because they saw it on Tiktok or because they’re snoring or have bad breath but from a sleep point of view, we’d want you to get to the root of the problem and there’s varied evidence here.”
She’s sceptical that it can help with the tricky issue of snoring, which is what leads many people to mouth taping in the first place.
“Snoring can be caused by loads of things but it’s rarely a singular symptom – it’s usually indicative of something. Sleep apnoea would be its biggest assignment but it can be caused by drinking too much alcohol, having too much weight, and things like that, so I think snoring should be always checked.”
Staying safe
With mouth taping, Lucy is adamant that safety is paramount and it’s important to do your research before trying anything.
“I was seeing people on Tiktok using duct tape and things like that when, if you are going to try it, you need to use a porous surgical tap, like Myotape. It’s about making sure that we’re making informed decisions.”
However, instead of just taking a chance and seeing how you get on with it, Lucy advises going to see an ENT (ear, nose and throat specialist) or a dentist to see if that can help solve those issues – either in adults or young children.
“With children, if they are snoring, it can be a symptom of disordered breathing,” she warned. “It’s always better to get to the root of the problem rather than just treating the symptom. It’s trying to have a holistic view of these things. You may have bad breath but do you also have a cavity or digestive issues that need to be ruled out first?”
Good sleep hygiene
In terms of getting a good night’s sleep, Lucy likes to stick to the basics. She’s an advocate of natural solutions like swapping coffee for camomile tea, and says that sometimes being obsessed with your sleep can be one of the worst things because it creates a psychological tension that didn’t exist before.
“If you ask a person who sleeps well what they do, they’ll say they don’t do anything. Whereas the person who doesn’t sleep well is doing a multitude of things because sleep is becoming more than the sum of its parts,” she explains. “You’re taking that natural inherent quality away from it. But then, that’s because you’re not getting to the root of the issue because a lot of adult issues are anxiety and stress-related.”
Click here for more tips on how to get a great night’s sleep or here if you want to learn more about a sleep divorce.
