Sleeping at night with your mouth taped shut sounds bizarre, right? But not to social media users who have a new sleep secret, called mouth taping. This bedtime trend involves keeping your mouth closed with a skin-safe tape to promote breathing through your nose, explains Dr Neetu Jain, senior consultant, Critical Care, Sleep Medicine, PSRI Hospital.
How long should you tape up?
“The trend allows one to breathe through the nose, which in turn can help improve sleep quality and overall health. Mouth taping should be done for seven to eight hours during sleep at night,” explains Dr Manav Manchanda, director and head, Respiratory, Critical Care and Sleep Medicine, Asian Hospital, adding, “Ensure you use a gentle hypoallergenic tape and consult with a healthcare professional before starting this practice. Especially, if you have any respiratory issues or sleep disorders like sleep apnea.” And since there are no official guidelines outlining how to tape up your mouth safely, it’s a good idea to test it during the day, according to Dr Jain.
How do you tape your mouth?
As per experts, porous, skin-friendly tapes are used for this trend. “Mouth taping involves covering the upper and lower lips with specialised adhesive porous tape. This is to prevent the person from being able to open their mouth freely while asleep,” shares Dr Manchanda.
Does it help you sleep better?
Although there are no clinically proven results yet, doctors say that breathing through the nose is better than breathing through the mouth. Dr Akshay Budhraja, senior consultant, Respiratory and Sleep Medicine, Aakash Healthcare, shares, “Benefits could be a decrease in snoring and tiredness, improvement in concentration, less bad breath, better sleep, improved oral hygiene, less thirst, etc.” Dr Manchanda adds, “It can help by lowering blood pressure and filtering allergens.
Who should not try?
This trend is not for everybody. “People suffering from a sinus infection, ear infection, cold, chapped lips or inflamed skin around the mouth should not try it. Neither should anyone with medical conditions like nose polyps or nasal issues, body mass index (BMI) more than 35 indicating obesity, or significant lung or cardiac issues,” informs Dr Manchanda, adding, “It must be avoided if one has consumed alcohol or taken sedatives.”
What are the risks involved?
Mouth taping can lead to mouth puffing, suffocation, anxiety, difficulty in breathing and disrupted sleep due to irritation and itching from the tape, informs Dr Bandana Mishra, head of department, Pulmonology, Shalby Sanar International Hospitals, Gurugram, adding that a doctor should be consulted before trying it.
DON’T KNOCK IT ‘TIL YOU’VE TRIED IT
Model Ashley Graham hailed the benefits of this trend on the ‘gram in 2023. Sharing a photo with mouth taped while she lay in bed, the model wrote, “I started taping my mouth shut when I sleep and I have never slept better — and even better when I wake up. Don’t knock it till you try it!”
SINGLE BEST WELLNESS TOOL
Championing this fad, actor-entrepreneur Gwyneth Paltrow spoke about it in November, 2022. She wrote in her Insta Stories, “This is probably the single best wellness tool I have found recently. Breathing through your nose at night apparently creates alkalinity in the body and promotes best quality sleep.
