Can Taping Your Mouth Shut at Night Improve Your Sleep?

One of the latest on TikTok and other social media is mouth taping, which is exactly what it sounds like. By keeping your mouth shut at night, proponents claim, you can snore less, sleep better, and even have a fresher breath. But what does science behind mouth taping actually say? happens when our ability to breathe is cut off during sleep.

This causes the brain to wake us up just enough to start breathing again only for the cycle to restart once we fall back asleep. The severity of sleep apnea is determined by the number of episodes of stopped or reduced breathing that occur each night. Snoring is a common symptom of sleep apnea, since it’s a sign of having narrow airways, but not every snorer has the condition.

There are two main types of sleep apnea: obstructive and central. Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) happens when airway muscles physically block a person’s breathing, while central apnea is when the brain forgets to signal the body to breathe (a third mixed form has features of both). Mouth taping is intended to help with the former type of sleep apnea.

It’s known that people with OSA tend to breath through their mouths regularly, often as a way to compensate for narrow or blocked upper airways through the nose. Unfortunately, mouth breathing can OSA by further narrowing the airways (the tongue can fall back and block the airway). It can reduce our oxygen intake, contributing to poorer sleep and our mouths, making it easier for the bacteria that cause bad breath a.