Should you be mouth taping? What’s driving the viral trend

Mouth taping, the practice of sealing the lips shut during sleep to encourage nasal breathing, has gained traction online, promoted as a helpful solution for snoring, dry mouth and poor sleep.

While some people tout it as a simple way to get better sleep, medical experts warn the practice may be ineffective at best and potentially risky for those with undiagnosed sleep disorders.

The trend has exploded on platforms like TikTok and Instagram, where influencers and wellness enthusiasts claim that taping the mouth shut at night can lead to deeper sleep, reduced snoring and even improved focus and immunity.

At first glance, it sounds like a harmless (if slightly odd) sleep hack. But experts are pushing back, saying the trend oversimplifies a complex issue. While nasal breathing can be beneficial, they warn that mouth taping isn’t a one-size-fits-all solution.

Search for “mouth taping” on social media and you’ll find sharply divided opinions.

Countless videos tout health benefits from promoting nasal breathing and reducing snoring, while others warn the practice could be dangerous, particularly for those with undiagnosed conditions like sleep apnea, where restricting airflow could pose serious health risks.

Now, those warnings have scientific backing.

A Canadian study published Wednesday in PLOS One confirms this danger, finding that mouth taping could be particularly risky for people with sleep apnea — a condition that often goes undiagnosed as breathing repeatedly stops and starts during sleep.

The researchers from the London Health Sciences Centre Research Institute in London, Ont., took a closer look at the science behind mouth taping.

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They combed through existing medical literature and found 10 studies they considered high enough quality to include in their final review. These studies looked at different ways people try to keep their mouths closed during sleep — from tape to chin straps — and included data from a total of 213 participants.

Two studies showed a slight improvement in sleep apnea symptoms for a small group of people with mild cases. But most of the research showed no meaningful benefits for things like mouth breathing, snoring or sleep-disordered breathing, the researchers said.

Four of the studies flagged a potential safety issue: for people whose noses are blocked or narrowed, due to allergies, chronic nasal inflammation, a deviated septum or other conditions, sealing the mouth shut could pose a real risk of asphyxiation.

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“Eighty per cent of the papers published did not show any benefit to this practice. Twenty per cent did show a slight benefit … likely statistically beneficial, but not really clinically beneficial,” said lead author Dr. Brian Rotenberg, who is an otolaryngology specialist at London Health Sciences Centre, St. Joseph’s Health Care London and Western University.

Rotenberg said that until about three years ago, he’d never heard of mouth taping. But then patients started showing up at his clinic asking about it after seeing the trend online.

As more people began mentioning it, he decided that if patients were trying this themselves, researchers should look into what actual evidence exists to support or refute the practice.

“Our nose is a very vital structure … it humidifies the air we breathe in, it warms the air we breathe in … so breathing through the nose in all honesty just kind of feels better. And so people want to breathe through their noses,” he explained.

“The issue is that many, many people out there, for many numbers of reasons, they just can’t breathe through the nose. So why can’t we breathe through our nose is the real question. And there are many reasons … could be allergies, could be a deviated septum, could be nasal polyps, or even in some rare cases, you can have a nasal tumour there, and these things happen as well,” Rotenberg added.

But if you don’t know you have these underlying problems, mouth taping isn’t going to treat them, he said, and could even pose real health risks, especially for those with sleep apnea.

He acknowledged that some people do report positive experiences with mouth taping, saying it helps them breathe more easily through their nose and wake up feeling more rested.

Rotenberg doesn’t dismiss those accounts outright — but he emphasized that one person’s success doesn’t necessarily mean the method is safe or effective for everyone.

If you’re having trouble breathing through your nose, he recommends speaking with your doctor to check for any underlying nasal obstructions or sleep-related issues.

— With files from Global News’ Katherine Ward