Mouth taping while sleeping can change the shape of your face (but it’s not for everyone)

In recent years, there’s been growing interest in the practice of mouth taping, particularly as more people explore its potential health benefits for breathing, sleep, and overall well-being. While it may seem unconventional, mouth taping has actually been rooted in respiratory science for some time. Proponents of this technique claim it encourages nasal breathing during sleep, improving sleep quality and promoting various health benefits. This article delves into what mouth taping does, who popularised it, what Andrew Huberman and other experts say about it, and who should avoid it.

Who Popularised Mouth Taping?

Though mouth taping has been around in certain health circles for decades, it gained more mainstream attention with the work of Patrick McKeown, an Irish breathing expert and author of The Oxygen Advantage. McKeown has extensively studied and promoted the benefits of nasal breathing, especially for athletes and people with sleep-related issues. His work has brought attention to mouth taping as a practical solution for ensuring nasal breathing, particularly at night when people may unconsciously switch to mouth breathing.

The practice has also been supported by those advocating the Buteyko Method, a form of breathing retraining that focuses on breathing through the nose and reducing hyperventilation. Named after Dr. Konstantin Buteyko, a Soviet doctor who developed the method in the 1950s, the Buteyko Method promotes nasal breathing to balance oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in the body.

What Is Mouth Taping and Where Did It Come From?

Mouth taping is the practice of placing a piece of adhesive tape over the lips to keep the mouth closed during sleep, promoting nasal breathing, which is more optimal for overall health. This method filters, warms, and humidifies the air before it enters the lungs, while also producing nitric oxide, a molecule essential for enhancing oxygen uptake. In contrast, mouth breathing is often linked to issues like snoring, dry mouth, poor sleep quality, and dental problems, including cavities and gum disease.

The roots of mouth taping lie in the Buteyko Method, a breathing technique developed by Ukrainian doctor Konstantin Buteyko in the 1950s. Although mouth taping was not part of the original method, it was later adopted by practitioners outside of Russia to help increase adherence to the nasal breathing component of the training. The Buteyko Method focuses on reducing hyperventilation and breathing retraining to promote better health. Taping was introduced as an adjunct to this larger program, rather than as a stand-alone fix.

This simple practice encourages individuals to breathe through the nose, capitalising on the numerous benefits of nasal breathing while mitigating the drawbacks associated with mouth breathing.

Potential Benefits of Mouth Taping

1. Improved Sleep Quality

Nasal breathing helps optimise oxygen delivery to the brain and body, leading to better overall sleep. Mouth taping prevents waking up with a dry mouth or feeling fatigued due to poor oxygenation during the night.

2. Reduction in Snoring

People often try mouth taping to reduce snoring. Mouth breathing allows throat and mouth tissues to collapse more easily, causing snoring. Nasal breathing creates a more stable airway, reducing or eliminating snoring.

3. Better Oxygen Utilisation

Breathing through the nose allows more efficient oxygen exchange and carbon dioxide retention, both essential for optimal respiratory function. Nitric oxide produced in the nasal passages aids oxygen delivery.

4. Enhanced Cognitive Function

Proper breathing, especially during sleep, affects brain function. Nasal breathing supports better cognitive performance and mental clarity. In contrast, mouth breathing can disrupt sleep cycles and reduce cognitive function over time.

5. Support for Cardiovascular Health

Nasal breathing helps maintain better blood pressure regulation and heart rate variability. Mouth breathing, especially during sleep, can elevate blood pressure and stress the cardiovascular system, making nasal breathing essential for long-term heart health.

6. Improved Dental Health

Mouth breathing can dry out the mouth, leading to an increase in harmful bacteria, bad breath, and tooth decay. Keeping the mouth closed during sleep supports better oral health by maintaining necessary moisture levels.

Who Should Avoid Mouth Taping?

While mouth taping can be beneficial for many, it’s not suitable for everyone. Here’s who should avoid it or at least consult a healthcare provider before trying it:

1. People with Sleep Apnea

Those with sleep apnea—especially obstructive sleep apnea (OSA)—should be cautious. Mouth taping can worsen airway obstructions by forcing the mouth shut, potentially increasing the risks associated with the condition. Sleep apnea sufferers should consult with a sleep specialist or doctor to explore safer treatment options, such as continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) therapy.

2. People with Nasal Congestion or Blockages

If you suffer from chronic nasal congestion, allergies, or a deviated septum, forcing yourself to breathe through your nose could make things worse. It’s essential to address any underlying nasal issues before trying mouth taping.

3. People with Anxiety or Panic Disorders

For some people, the feeling of having their mouth taped shut can cause anxiety or panic. It’s important to approach mouth taping with caution if you have a history of anxiety, claustrophobia, or panic attacks. If discomfort arises, it may not be the best approach for you.

4. Children

Children, especially those under the age of five, should not use mouth tape unless directed by a medical professional. Pediatric nasal structures are still developing, and mouth taping could interfere with normal growth. Additionally, mouth taping could mask underlying issues like enlarged tonsils or adenoids, which may need medical attention.

How to Practice Mouth Taping Safely

If you decide to try mouth taping, it’s essential to do so in a way that’s safe and comfortable:

• Use Medical-Grade Tape: Choose a tape that’s safe for the skin and easy to remove. Many people recommend micropore tape or specially designed mouth tapes like those from brands like Somnifix. Avoid using duct tape or anything overly adhesive that could damage your skin.

• Start Slowly: If you’re new to the practice, it’s okay to start with shorter periods of time. You can try it during naps or while relaxing before sleep to get used to the sensation.

• Make Sure Your Nose is Clear: Always ensure your nasal passages are clear before using mouth tape. You might want to try nasal sprays or saline rinses if you have mild congestion.

• Monitor Your Sleep: If possible, monitor your sleep using a sleep tracker or work with a sleep specialist to ensure that mouth taping is improving your sleep rather than causing any issues.

The Science Behind Nasal Breathing

Breathing through the nose plays a vital role in overall respiratory function. The nose not only filters and humidifies the air, but it also produces nitric oxide, a molecule that is essential for vasodilation and efficient oxygen exchange. Nasal breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, promoting relaxation and better sleep quality.

In contrast, mouth breathing is often seen as a dysfunctional breathing pattern. When you breathe through your mouth, the air bypasses the nasal passages, reducing the body’s ability to filter and humidify it. Mouth breathing can lead to a variety of issues, including dry mouth, increased snoring, a higher likelihood of cavities, and even gum disease. Chronic mouth breathers often develop “forward head posture,” which further compounds health problems by straining the neck and upper back muscles.

Mouth breathing also impacts sleep architecture, potentially leading to poor quality sleep, more frequent awakenings, and less restorative sleep overall. For these reasons, many health practitioners and breathing educators have turned to mouth taping as a potential solution.

Andrew Huberman on Mouth Taping

Dr. Andrew Huberman, a neuroscientist and professor at Stanford University, has also weighed in on the benefits of mouth taping, adding to its credibility within scientific and health communities. On his podcast, the Huberman Lab Podcast, Huberman discusses the importance of nasal breathing and how mouth taping can enhance sleep quality and overall health.

Huberman emphasises that breathing through the nose allows the body to maximise the production of nitric oxide, which plays a key role in oxygen delivery throughout the body. This is essential for both cognitive and physical function. He explains that nasal breathing during sleep helps activate the parasympathetic nervous system (the body’s “rest and digest” system), leading to deeper relaxation and better quality of sleep.

According to Huberman, mouth breathing can lead to disruptions in sleep architecture, increased snoring, and poorer cognitive performance the next day due to insufficient oxygen exchange during sleep. By taping the mouth shut, people are encouraged to maintain nasal breathing, ensuring a more restful and restorative sleep. He also notes that chronic mouth breathing can exacerbate problems like anxiety and poor cardiovascular health due to shallow breathing patterns.

However, Huberman also acknowledges that mouth taping is not appropriate for everyone. He stresses that individuals with underlying health conditions such as sleep apnea or anxiety should consult with a healthcare provider before attempting to use mouth tape, as forcing nasal breathing could exacerbate their symptoms. Huberman’s measured approach aligns with other experts who caution against indiscriminate use of mouth taping without understanding its potential risks.

The Risks of Mouth Taping

Lately, more healthcare professionals—dentists, doctors—are advising patients to tape their mouths shut while sleeping. This practice is being taken out of its original context from the Buteyko Method, often without a full understanding of its purpose. What’s missing is proper knowledge of when mouth taping might be suitable, when it’s dangerous, and the unintended harm that could come from forcing nasal breathing.

As experienced breathing educators, we’ve witnessed several negative outcomes from this advice. One case that stands out involved a client who had a complicated health background, including anxiety. Despite this, her doctor recommended taping her mouth to stop snoring. When she tried, she woke up in the night with a panic attack.

Mouth taping wasn’t even part of the original Buteyko Method. Dr. Konstantin Buteyko, its Ukrainian founder, never introduced it. It was later adopted by Buteyko practitioners outside of Russia to help patients stick to the breathing programme.

However, some practitioners have since spotted a money-making opportunity. They’ve designed and marketed branded mouth tape, promoting it far and wide, without discrimination. The notion that you need to spend over $1 a day on branded tape is questionable. For those who actually benefit from taping, a simple $4 roll of paper tape from the chemist works just fine and can last six months.

After eight years of clinical practice, I’ve noticed that your breathing patterns at night mirror those during the day. Proper breathing retraining addresses all aspects—rate, rhythm, route, and volume—whether awake, asleep, or even talking. Applied correctly, this process usually restores functional breathing with nasal breathing at night. Where taping is appropriate, it’s used temporarily to aid progress, but it is never forced.

Taping Isn’t for Everyone

Mouth taping is not a one-size-fits-all solution and should not be a mandatory part of Buteyko training. It’s also unsuitable for many, especially without daily breathing exercises that typically span a minimum of six weeks.

Improper breathing, especially over-breathing, is more often the root cause. Taping someone’s mouth at night, without any other intervention, won’t fix that. It simply forces air through a smaller airway, leading to complications. Australian ENT surgeon Dr. David McIntosh has shared warnings about the risks of taping, pointing out that merely forcing someone to breathe through their nose doesn’t retrain their breathing patterns.

Forcing nasal breathing can be harmful to both the nasal structure and the cardiovascular system. For example, those with a deviated septum—where one nasal airway is smaller—may not even realise they have this issue. Taping in this case can strain the nose’s cartilage, leading to long-term damage.

The increased respiratory effort from forced nasal breathing can also put strain on the heart. Deep breaths pull more blood into the chest and the right side of the heart, which is already working harder. The heart is forced to push this larger blood volume through constricted vessels, raising blood pressure and adding unnecessary strain to the system.

Taping in Children—A Serious Concern

Children, in particular, are at risk when mouth taping is recommended without full consideration of potential obstructions like enlarged adenoids or nasal polyps. Some studies indicate that about one in five children with airway obstructions also develop secondary pulmonary hypertension—high blood pressure on the heart’s right side. This makes indiscriminate taping especially dangerous. Forcing a child to breathe through a partially blocked nose can increase strain on their heart, potentially leading to right-sided heart failure.

It’s crucial to understand that poor breathing patterns in children are not always about bad habits. Taping can exacerbate physiological problems that stem from true obstructions. If you’re dealing with mouth-breathing children, it’s essential to first determine whether there’s an actual obstruction causing their issues.

Not for Everyone, Even in a Retraining Programme

Even those following a breathing retraining programme have to consider contraindications for taping. Anxiety, nausea, epilepsy, claustrophobia, and age (below five) are all reasons to avoid it. For example, a 2009 study found no benefit to taping alone for patients with asthma.

Mouth taping isn’t meant to be a permanent solution either. If someone needs to tape for the long term, it means their breathing pattern hasn’t been fully retrained. When Buteyko is done correctly, nasal breathing—both day and night—should become natural, eliminating the need for tape altogether.

A Caution for Those Considering Mouth Taping

If you’re thinking about trying mouth taping or recommending it to others, be cautious. Mouth breathing could be a symptom of a larger issue, and taping may only address the surface. It’s important to consider a person’s overall health and breathing habits. Retraining breathing is about developing a pattern that works efficiently and supports the body, and this should be done gradually, with care, by a qualified professional who understands the process thoroughly.

Patrick McKeown, a Buteyko Practitioner, has worked with over 8,000 people, and only 15 were unable to achieve nasal breathing due to a severely deviated septum or nasal polyps. Even with a less-than-perfect nose, most people can still learn to breathe comfortably through it.

Australian physiotherapist Tess Graham echoes this, noting that in over 20 years of practice, she’s rarely seen a nose that couldn’t clear up after addressing a poor breathing pattern—without mouth taping. But this requires following a careful, step-by-step process, not rushing into tape.

If you’re considering this approach, take the time to understand the full picture and seek professional guidance before taping anyone’s mouth shut.