Mouth taping – why would you?

Why Taping Your Mouth at Night?

Mouth taping during sleep might sound unusual, but it’s gaining attention as a simple and effective way to improve sleep quality, health, and even energy levels. By encouraging nasal breathing at night, this practice taps into the body’s natural mechanisms for relaxation and oxygen optimization. The question is, is it right for you?

Here’s everything you need to know about why mouth taping works, how to do it safely, who should be careful or avoid it all together and some real-life experiences to inspire you to give it a try.

Why Mouth Taping?

The key to mouth taping lies in its ability to promote nasal breathing while you sleep. If you are in normal good health and want to improve your wellness and general health this biohack could be for you. Here’s why nasal breathing matters:

1. Nasal Breathing Optimizes Oxygen Intake:
   When you breathe through your nose, your body produces nitric oxide, a molecule that helps widen blood vessels and improve oxygen delivery to cells. Mouth breathing bypasses this process, reducing oxygen efficiency.
2. Nasal Breathing Can Reduce Blood Pressure: Because nitric oxide helps widen blood vessels, it can also help reduce blood pressure.
3. Hygiene and Immune Help: Two other benefits of Nitric Oxide is that it kills viruses and bacteria, and is a very powerful antioxidant. 
4. Improves Sleep Quality:
   Mouth breathing is often linked to snoring and sleep apnea*. Nasal breathing encourages deeper, more restorative sleep by keeping airways open and reducing disturbances, some studies indicate reduction of snoring.
5. Moisturizes Airways:
   Nasal passages naturally filter, humidify, and warm the air you breathe. Mouth breathing, on the other hand, can lead to dry mouth and altered pH levels, and possibly be a factor of bad breath, and gum issues.
6. Reduces Stress:
   Nasal breathing activates the parasympathetic nervous system, helping your body relax and recover during sleep.
7. Opens Nasal Passages and Sinuses:
   Nasal breathing causes the air to circulate in the nasal passages and sinuses. This stimulates the mucus membranes and they can better do their draining job keeping the passages clear and open making it easier to breathe, 

How to Get Started with Mouth Taping

Mouth taping is a simple process, but it’s important to do it correctly to ensure safety and effectiveness. Here’s how:

1. Choose the Right Tape:
   Use a gentle, skin-safe tape like medical-grade or hypoallergenic tape. Brands like 3M Micropore or specialty mouth tapes that are designed for this purpose, however, this specialty tape is often expensive. Personally, I use a small piece of Kinesiotape – it’s elastic and comfortable, sticks well, breathes, is easy to remove and is made for skin use. 
2. Test Your Skin:
   If you have sensitive skin, test the tape on a small area first.
3. Start Small:
   Try placing a small vertical strip of tape across the center of your lips. This keeps your mouth gently closed while allowing you to open it or take a sip of water if needed. The point is to just keep the lips together, you don’t need to tape across the full length of the lips. 
4. Focus on Nasal Breathing Before Sleep:
   Practice a few minutes of nasal breathing exercises, such as the 4-8 rhythm or box breath 4:4:4:4, to prepare your body for the shift from mouth to nose breathing.
5. Take your time: It can take some time to get used to. In the beginning perhaps you take it off during sleep. It’s OK – it usually passes. For me, I miss the tape now, it’s a part of my going to bed ritual.
6. Remove the tape gently: In the morning remove the tape gently so you don’t take off skin by ripping it off. 
7. How do you feel:
   Pay attention to how you feel. If you experience discomfort, try adjusting the size or placement of the tape. Allow time to get used to it. If it feels totally wrong for you, simply don’t do it.

Personal Experiences with Mouth Taping

My personal experience is that I get more restful sleep, and when I wake up my sinuses and nasal passages are completely clear- this amazed me the most – I used to wake up totally stuffed, every morning, now no more.

One user shared his experience with mouth taping:
“I have less wake-ups. I used to have to empty my bladder 4-5 times a night – now I’m down to 1 og 2 times, my snoring has also decreased a bit.”

Is Mouth Taping Safe?

For most people, mouth taping is safe. However, there are a few precautions to keep in mind:

• *Consult a Doctor: If you have conditions like severe sleep apnea, chronic nasal congestion, or other respiratory issues, you should NOT try mouth taping until you have consulted your doctor.
• Anxiety and Panic Attacks: If you have these conditions and you feel an increase, or rise of these feelings, start practicing during the day for short periods and see how that feels. If it feels OK, you can try at night. Always remember that you can at any point remove the tape if you become uncomfortable.
• Ensure Clear Nasal Passages: If your nose is blocked due to allergies or a cold, wait until you can breathe comfortably through your nose before taping.

The Takeaway

Mouth taping might feel unconventional at first, but its benefits that so many experience are hard to ignore. By promoting nasal breathing, it supports better sleep, improved oxygenation, and overall health. Another benefit is that it helps you become aware of any potential mouth breathing that you might be doing during the day as well. It gives you an opportunity to go back to nasal breathing and continue to gain the health benefits day and night.

If you’re in normal health and curious, give it a try. Sleep is the foundation of health, and better breathing might just be the key to unlocking your best rest yet.

About the author: 

Siv Jøssang Shields is the co-founder of The Integrated Human specializing in human transformation. She has been teaching Neurogenic Tremoring since 2010 and is a seasoned breathwork instructor and trauma-informed practitioner dedicated to helping individuals find healing and resilience through mindful practices. Siv leads workshops, personal sessions, and retreats. She has been a chiropractor since 1996 and also has a Masters in Physiology and a Bachelors in Biology.