Stick to It: Can Overnight Mouth Tape Really Transform Your Breathing Habits
The Risks and Benefits of Mouth Taping for Better Sleep
Breathing through your mouth can cause facial deformities, but be careful when using tape.
A recent survey of 2,005 adults who tried the taping method for sleeping reported that more than one in 10 had tried mouth taping. The reasons given were varied, including to stop snoring, reduce mouth breathing, and change the shape of the face. Some videos on social platforms claim that mouth taping can improve the jawline and reduce the appearance of chin fat.
However, there is little medical evidence to support the practice of mouth taping, according to Indira Gurubagavatula, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine and a spokesperson for the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. She adds that taping your mouth should be used with caution, especially if you have underlying lung disease or sleep apnea, as it can make it harder for your mouth to get enough oxygen.
Obstructive sleep apnea, a condition in which the airway partially or completely collapses, is one of the most common sleep disorders, affecting more than 1 billion adults worldwide between the ages of 30 and 69.
Mouth tape can help support nasal breathing, which can filter air, regulate temperature, and prevent structural changes to the face. According to Dr. Salma Batul-Anwar, director of the sleep medicine fellowship program at Massachusetts General Brigham and Women’s Hospital, “While there are no studies showing that mouth tape changes the shape of the jaw in adults, mouth breathing may alter the shape of the face in adolescents and early adulthood.” A 2022 study found that children who breathed through their nose had a more properly positioned palate and tongue, while mouth breathers had changes to their facial muscles, lips, tongue, and jawbone.
However, mouth taping has been reported to have side effects, including sleep disruption and difficulty breathing through the nose. It can also irritate the lips and be painful to remove. If you feel like you have to breathe through your mouth, instead of taping your mouth shut, it may be a good idea to get checked for nasal passage blockage due to allergies, viral infections, polyps, a deviated septum, or other structural differences.
Breathing through your nose helps regulate the temperature of the air you breathe while filtering out allergens before they reach your lungs. It is true that breathing through your nose can help you sleep better.