Ok here is the official weirdest topic I’ve ever written about but LFG. Mouth taping is a new wellness trend that it is exactly what it sounds like… when you quite literally tape your mouth shut with a soft, skin-safe tape at night to help encourage you to breathe through your nose instead of your mouth, improve sleep and stop your snoring. The goal is to breathe through your nose all night which is hard to do without it.

I decided to try it after my sister and brother-in-law had pretty incredible results from mouth taping. My brother-in-law was a tosser and turner who woke up a lot at night and he now sleeps still through the night and wakes up with more energy than ever. I was sold!

Before I get into it all, a great resource if this all feels strange to you is the book Breath by James Nestor which explains the science behind the benefits of nose breathing. I haven’t read it but my husband has and I will get to it at some point too.

Building up to mouth taping:

At first it might feel a little scary to sleep with your mouth taped shut. I was worried that I couldn’t drink water in the night (which I now no longer need to do TBH since I started mouth taping) or that it would feel claustrophobic. I recommend trying it for 20 minutes before bed one night to see how it feels. After that, take it off in the night if you feel uncomfortable.

For the first 5-7 nights, I would take it off in the middle of the night, totally freaked out, but my sister told me to push through that and I’m so glad that I did.

Now I find myself sleeping all the way through the night and waking up feeling more rested than ever before. I also don’t wake up with a dry throat or mouth anymore at all which is really nice.

Does mouth taping improve your sleep?

I’m no doctor, but I would guess that while it’s been pretty wonderful for me, it doesn’t help everyone. If you have chronic sinus issues and can’t breathe through your nose (like I used to), I would imagine it’s pretty uncomfortable. But in my experience it has completely changed how I sleep at night. With the caveat that it took about a week to get used to it.

Benefits of mouth taping (all sourced from here)

Improved nasal breathing. The key benefit to mouth taping is that you breathe through your nose instead of your mouth, which is the catalyst of a number of other purported benefits. For example, Fraundorf says, “Through nasal breathing, you also produce a gas called nitric oxide, which increases blood flow, lowers blood pressure and improves brain function.”

Increased oxygen intake. “Nasal breathing activates your lower lungs, letting you take deeper, fuller breaths, therefore getting more oxygen,” Fraundorf explains. Wei adds that this improved oxygen intake is accompanied by better filtration of air and better carbon dioxide elimination compared to mouth breathing.

Reduced snoring. According to Wei and Fraundorf, breathing through the nose may eliminate or reduce snoring, leading to more sound sleep for the individual using the mouth tape and their sleep partner.

Bruxism prevention. “In some cases, mouth taping can help prevent teeth grinding (bruxism) by encouraging proper mouth and jaw positioning during sleep,” Wei says. However, the dentist warns that those with temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders or jaw pain should avoid mouth taping, as it may increase tension in the jaw muscles and worsen their symptoms.

Improved oral hygiene. Fraundorf cites reduced mouth dryness, fewer cavities and decreased risk of gum disease as positive outcomes of mouth taping.

Better breath. According to the oral health experts, bad breath and tooth decay are linked to mouth breathing because it can allow bacteria and viruses to enter your system, thus nasal breathing promotes better breath.

Better sleep, and therefore, higher energy. Because mouth taping may improve sleep quality, Fraundorf says related benefits like increased REM sleep, higher energy in the morning, improved cognitive function and reduced anxiety may be secondhand results.

More fun facts about mouth-taping:

[One] problem with mouth breathing is that it dries out our mouth and disrupts our oral microbiome. A lack of saliva makes our mouth more acidic and causes bad oral bacteria to take over, which makes us more prone to cavities, gum disease, and bad breath (source).

When air moves through the nasal cavity, it is warmed and humidified. When you inhale through your nose during the day or at night, the air you take in is also filtered, removing dust, allergens, and other particles, and it activates the body’s relaxing, stress-reducing parasympathetic nervous system (source).

Where to buy mouth tape?

• This is the one that I use but there are tons of options out there.
• Lauren from The Skinny Confidential is now making mouth tape but it’s wait listed.
• I’ve heard good things about this one too.
• I’m going to try these next when I run out of mine based on a few recommendations.

What do you think? Would you try mouth taping?