We can all agree that sharing a bed with someone who snores is the absolute worst. If you’ve lived through the experience, you might have given the viral sleep trend "mouth taping" a try. Basically, it involves taping your lips together to prevent mouth breathing during sleep, and the internet swears by it. But medical experts? Not so much. A new study suggests that mouth taping can potentially exacerbate underlying health conditions and increase your risk of asphyxiation and heart disease.
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How does mouth taping work?
Like all viral health and wellness trends, the concept of mouth taping was born on the internet. On TikTok, there are over 11,400 posts with the hashtag "mouthtaping." The trend has been touted by doctors, celebrities, and social media influencers. Podcaster and influencer Lauryn Bosstick of "The Skinny Confidential" is a huge advocate of the trend, and now sells her own brand of mouth tape to her 2 million Instagram followers.
So, what’s the fascination with mouth taping? Those on social media say it helps kick the habit of sleeping with an open mouth—giving you no choice but to breathe through your nose instead. By doing so, this can allegedly improve oral health, reduce snoring, and lead to better sleep quality.
There’s hesitation around mouth taping, especially when it comes to treating sleep disorders.
Medical experts have argued both sides of mouth taping. According to Cleveland Clinic, there are several benefits to becoming a nose breather. Some of these include lowering blood pressure, filtering allergens, decreasing anxiety, humidifying the air you breathe, and regulating breath temperature.
Conversely, some medical experts believe that mouth tape is merely putting a band-aid, literally, on a potential health issue.
"Most of the evidence is anecdotal. There is not strong enough evidence to support that mouth tape is beneficial," sleep medicine specialist Cinthya Pena Orbea, MD, told Cleveland Clinic. "Mouth taping is not part of our current practice to treat any sleep disorder."
In a new study, researchers highlight the potential risks associated with mouth taping and sleep disorders, such as obstructive sleep apnea.
"It was concerning to us that celebrities and influencers are endorsing mouth taping without scientific evidence," study author and researcher Brian Rotenberg, MD, said in a news release. "In the language of social media influencers, it seemed a bit 'sus,' so we examined what science is telling us about this trend and whether or not it is safe."
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New research indicates mouth tape exacerbates sleep-disordered breathing.
A new paper published in the journal PLOS Onehas debunked one of TikTok’s biggest sleep trends: mouth taping. After analyzing data from 86 scientific studies, Rotenberg and his team found the fad to be "not necessarily scientifically accurate." They reviewed 213 patient experiences and outcomes and concluded that mouth tape can actually worsen existing sleep-disorder breathing.
When you tape your mouth shut, you’re restricting airflow and putting extra stress on the respiratory system, and as a result, increasing your risk of asphyxiation. Some people are mouth breathers because they can’t properly breathe through their nose due to nasal obstruction. Mouth taping will only exacerbate this condition, per their findings.
"Our research shows that taping the mouth shut during sleep is dangerous, especially among those who may not be aware they have sleep apnea," said Rotenberg, who also works as an otolaryngologist and sleep surgeon. "These individuals are unknowingly making their symptoms worse and putting themselves at greater risk for serious health complications like heart disease."
The takeaway.
Whether or not you’ve participated in the mouth-taping trend, researchers emphasize that it’s not the end-all solution. Rather, consult your doctor if you have concerns or questions about your sleep breathing habits.
"It’s easy for misinformation to run rampant on social media; we’ve seen this countless times over the past few years," added author Jess Rhee. "We need to make health decisions based on strong scientific evidence. Our hope is that people stop taping their mouths during sleep and recognize it is dangerous."
