What is the claim?
We've all heard of clean eating, but the latest trending topic on social media is taping your mouth for “clean sleeping.”
The video, which has garnered nearly 1.6 million likes on Instagram, claims that taping your mouth can improve your sleep quality and oxygen intake, reduce snoring, and optimize your oral health. Several other videos make the same claims, adding that it can also help boost your immunity, reduce bad breath, ensure proper tongue position, sharpen your jawline, and even boost your energy.
In a TikTok video posted earlier this year, American actress Emma Robert shared that sleeping with tape over her mouth makes her feel better – at the time of writing, the video has garnered over 24,000 likes.
But is this “trick” really helpful or harmful? Let's find out from the experts.
Screenshot from a video discussing the “benefits” of taping your mouth. (Source: Instagram/TikTok)
What is Mouth Taping?
Mouth taping involves taping or taping your mouth shut while you sleep so that you can breathe through your nose instead of your mouth.
The human nose is designed for breathing, and it's beneficial. Many people breathe through their mouths unconsciously, especially those with respiratory conditions or sleep apnea (stopping breathing while sleeping). But there have been few small studies trying to figure out whether mouth breathing is beneficial.
This “medical advice” is popular on social media, but the science behind it is often misunderstood.
In a letter to the British Dental Journal, dentist Jonathan Quigley said there was limited research to back up these claims and stressed the need for more research.
Harvard Health said in its “Ask a Doctor” series that “Intentionally breathing through your nose while you're awake has many benefits, including slowing your breathing, filtering allergens, and reducing anxiety, but taping your mouth while you sleep to achieve this can be dangerous, restricting your breathing, disrupting sleep, and irritating your skin.”
Dr Suhas HS, consultant pulmonologist at Manipal Hospitals, Bangalore, explained to Logically Facts that people who suffer from nasal congestion, nasal polyps and adenoids tend to breathe through their mouths. He said this could be a sign of sleep apnea and advised people to consult a specialist to know the cause.
“If patients with mild sleep apnea blindly do this, it could worsen their symptoms,” he noted.
Dr Varun Bansal, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Apollo Hospitals in New Delhi, also warned against the treatment: “Taping the mouth has been tried anecdotally as a treatment, and since snoring can be caused by a number of factors, including blocked airways and relaxed throat muscles, it can sometimes be harmful to patients using this treatment to treat snoring,” he said.
What does the research say so far?
A 2022 study of 20 patients found that 13 of 20 patients who slept with lip tape covered reduced snoring after applying the tape. Another 2015 study of 30 patients found that a porous patch was effective for patients with mild sleep apnea and snoring. However, these studies were small, with 30 and 20 participants, respectively. The lack of data from large-scale clinical trials highlights the lack of concrete evidence.
“Studies on mouth taping are limited and results are conflicting. At this time, there is insufficient evidence to support mouth taping, and the risks outweigh the benefits,” Baylor College of Medicine said in a blog post.
verdict
The mouth taping fad is dangerous, and the science is still developing: claims that mouth taping improves sleep quality, oxygen intake, sharpens jawlines, or reduces bad breath have very weak evidence.
