Mouth Taping: Can It Really Help Your Sleep?

The mouth taping trend is aptly named. It’s the practice of taping your mouth shut while you sleep to improve your slumber. TikTok influencers continue to claim it quiets snoring and prevents morning dry mouth. The hashtag #mouthtaping has more than 51.7 million views on TikTok.

It’s not necessarily brand new. People have been trying the mouth taping sleep hack (and talking about it online) for several years now.

But does it work and is it safe to tape your mouth shut while you sleep?

Just because some TikTok users swear by it, don’t assume it will work (or is safe) for you, says Kaninika Verma, MD, a pulmonary and intensive care physician at OSF Saint Francis Medical Center in Peoria, Illinois, where she is director of sleep medicine. “I’m glad people are having conversations on social media about health issues — that’s a great thing,” Dr. Verma says. “But when it comes to medical advice, it’s in your best interest to have a personalized conversation with your doctor. They know not just the fads, but the medicine and what’s best for you.”

What Is Mouth Taping and Does It Work?

Mouth taping usually involves placing a piece of soft paper or porous tape vertically across the middle of your closed lips at bedtime. The aim is to discourage mouth-breathing and the snoring that may accompany it, according to Cleveland Clinic.

The goal, says Ann Kearney, a doctor of clinical science in speech-language pathology and a speech and swallowing disorders specialist in the department of otolaryngology at Stanford University in California, who is studying the effects of mouth taping on snoring, is to encourage breathing through the nose.

“When air moves through the nasal cavity, it is warmed and humidified,” Kearney says. 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.

In contrast, mouth-breathing may encourage nighttime snoring and leave you with a dry mouth. The purpose of taping the mouth is to ensure that your nighttime breathing happens via your nose, she says. “The tape is just a technique to help you convert to nasal breathing.”

Verma recommends that everyone who snores have a conversation about it with their primary-care physician, and ask if they should be evaluated for sleep apnea or other issues, like blockages in their nasal passages, that could be the cause. “There is only a very small group of patients who have what’s called ‘primary snoring’ with no other disorder going on,” she says.

What Does the Science Say About Mouth Taping?

So far, little research has examined the effectiveness and side effects of mouth taping for snoring.

In one small pilot study published in 2015 in the journal Otolaryngology — Head and Neck Surgery, 30 people with mild sleep apnea wore adhesive patches over their mouths during sleep for three nights at home. Snoring intensity, as reported by each participant’s bed partner, was reduced slightly.

In another small study, published in 2022 in the journal Sleep and Breathing, 18 people with suspected sleep apnea wore mouth tape overnight in a sleep lab. Researchers found that many “mouth-puffed” — inhaling through their mouth despite the tape, apparently to restore breathing after an apnea episode when breathing briefly stops. Significantly, the mouth-puffing (caused by the tape) did not stop the episodes of stopped breathing that cause sleep apnea.

And in another study, published in 2022 in the journal Healthcare, 20 mouth-breathers with mild sleep apnea wore mouth tape overnight. Thirteen snored less intensely with the tape in place compared with a night without it.

Kearney is making plans to study mouth taping in larger groups of people who snore and who don’t have sleep apnea. The goal is to see, for people with primary snoring, if the technique could improve sleep (for the snorers and their bed partners).

“Currently, we lack clinical trials to demonstrate the effectiveness of mouth tape,” she says. “Consequently, this simple, low-cost method with potentially a significant impact to a high percentage of the population has not been utilized.”

Her study would look at whether mouth taping reduces the loudness of snoring, whether it has an effect on morning dry mouth, and whether there are people who should not use mouth tape. Kearney is currently working on getting funding for the study.

Who Should Try Mouth Taping — and Who Shouldn’t

If you or a sleep partner notices that you snore during the night (or you have any other symptoms), you may have obstructive sleep apnea and you should talk to your doctor, Verma says.

It’s worth noting that mouth taping is not a substitute for getting a clinical diagnosis or treatment for sleep apnea if you have the chronic sleep disorder (symptoms include snoring, gasping for air, or breathing during sleep that starts or stops; sleepiness during the day, headaches or dry mouth, and frequently waking up at night to urinate, according to the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) or another health issue that’s causing you to snore.

“Untreated obstructive sleep apnea has long-term consequences for health and well-being, including heart issues, stroke, and greater difficulty controlling diabetes and high blood pressure,” she says. “It should be looked into — not just, ‘Hey, I snore and I’ll tape my mouth.’”

Verma agrees that nose-breathing does filter and moisten air. “Your respiratory system begins in your nose,” she notes.

But, she adds, it’s also natural to breathe through your mouth sometimes. Talk to your doctor, she recommends, if you seem to breathe through your mouth a lot of the time. “You may have nasal polyps, a deviated septum, or another type of nasal obstruction,” she says.

Kearney notes that mouth taping is not for everyone. “Not everyone will be able to — or should attempt — mouth taping,” she says. “If you struggle to breathe through your nose or can audibly hear yourself breathing through your nose throughout the day, you should not try mouth taping and instead get evaluated by an ear, nose, and throat doctor.”

Mouth taping could also cause problems if you have nasal congestion, allergies, asthma, or other respiratory issues, Verma says. The tape could irritate skin on and around your lips. Some people may also be allergic to the adhesives on mouth taping products, she adds.

The bottom line: Bringing any concerns about snoring to your doctor should be your first step, not taping your mouth. And so far, there are no studies evaluating the effectiveness, safety, or potential side effects of mouth taping for snoring in people who do not have obstructive sleep apnea.

Given all of that, Verma doesn’t recommend people try it. Kearney says mouth taping may be helpful if your goal is just to breathe through your nose at night, but there’s no evidence yet that it’s effective for snoring, and many people, as described above, should see their doctor first.

Summary

Mouth taping has gained popularity on social media, where influencers are claiming it helps with snoring.

While some evidence suggests it may help, if you snore, your first step should be talking to your doctor about whether you might have sleep apnea or any other underlying issues. “Don’t ignore snoring,” Verma says.