Mouth Taping for Sleep: How Can Mouth Taping Benefit Your Family’s Health?

Do you snore or suffer from sleep apnea? Do you experience asthma when you exercise? Does your child always seem to have a blocked nose?

Nasal congestion, airway irritation and sleep problems are all signs of chronic mouth breathing, a common but unhealthy habit closely associated with various diseases and disorders. Mouth breathing has serious consequences for children and for adults. It not only causes poor health but it gets worse as you get older.

Mouth taping for sleep, especially when used in conjunction with the Buteyko breathing exercises for sleep can bring on life-changing improvements to those suffering the effects of chronic mouth breathing (overbreathing) or its associated issues like asthma and sleep apnea.

With mouth taping for sleep, you will experience deeper, more restful sleep and reduced mouth snoring and sleep apnea. When you sleep better, your body is able to recover quicker, you relax more easily, feel more in control and can face the day energized.

Join us as we examine what mouth taping is, how mouth breathing negatively affects your health and the benefits of mouth taping for you and your family.

THE NEGATIVES OF MOUTH BREATHING

Mouth breathing is commonly caused by a small or blocked airway. It can be triggered by swollen adenoids, enlarged tonsils, allergies or a stuffy nose. At night, it leads to a serious condition called sleep-disordered breathing, which you might notice as snoring or sleep apnea. Sleep-disordered breathing is linked with heart problems and high blood pressure. Snoring isn’t cute; it’s a sign that something is wrong.

Chronic mouth breathing (overbreathing) is generally caused by nasal obstruction1 and increases with age. Once you reach 40, you’re six times more likely to switch between nose and mouth breathing when asleep.2

Sleeping with the mouth closed is better for both children and adults. Breathing in and out through your nose during sleep helps to open the upper airway and allows the correct tongue resting posture. On the other hand, breathing through an open mouth during sleep narrows the upper airway, thereby increasing the severity of obstructive sleep apnea.

Mental and physical wellbeing can often be negatively affected by the poor quality sleep, snoring, sleep apnea and other conditions caused by mouth breathing. Even if you don’t snore, mouth breathing at night bypasses important immune functions. Waking up in the morning with a dry mouth is usually a good sign that you should be mouth taping for sleep.

WHAT IS MOUTH TAPING?

Mouth taping is a technique that involves sealing the mouth (affixing the upper and lower lip) using a specialist lip tape like MyoTape that has been specifically designed to keep the lips sealed at night, safely. Micropore paper tape, porous tape, and similar breathing aids can also be used. Mouth taping ensures that the mouth is not easily opened at night and that mouth breathing does not occur during sleep.3

Mouth taping is a non-invasive, effective way to promote nose breathing, especially during sleep. Mouth tape causes little or no discomfort and ensures that one breathes through the nose by closing the mouth while asleep.

75% of people with anxiety and panic disorder have dysfunctional breathing.4 Hyperventilation, irregular breathing and frequent sighing can lead to overbreathing and symptoms of panic attack. By addressing breathing pattern disorders with mouth taping and functional breathing exercises, like the Buteyko Breathing Method, it is possible to relieve symptoms of anxiety and improve your overall quality of life.

Taping mouth shut at night is also one of the easiest ways to boost your immune system.5

MyoTape is a mouth tape designed by Buteyko Clinic founder, world-renowned breathing expert and author of The Breathing Cure, Patrick McKeown. It gently and safely surrounds the mouth, using elastic tension to keep the lips sealed, while still allowing speech and coughing if required.

IS MOUTH TAPING DANGEROUS?

Sealing the mouth shut can cause issues for some people, including stress, panic and in extreme cases, possible hospitalisation or worse.

However, MyoTape was specifically developed by Buteyko Clinic founder Patrick McKeown to keep the lips sealed at night safely, even if the person needs to cough, talk or even be sick.

If you have any health concerns, speak to your medical doctor before trying mouth taping. If you have any long term or serious medical condition, do not attempt to tape your mouth shut for sleep without medical supervision. Never seal your mouth with any tape not specifically designed for the purpose of mouth taping.

MOUTH TAPING BENEFITS: 7 REASONS WHY YOU SHOULD TAPE YOUR MOUTH

Mouth Tapes are designed to gently train your breathing during sleep, boosting your sleep quality and your wellbeing. Here are 7 reasons why mouth taping may help you.

1. Nose breathing prevents respiratory infections

Scientists have identified a link between habitual snoring, mouth breathing and rhinosinusitis, ear infections, and antibiotic use. In children, mouth breathing is a leading risk factor for upper respiratory infection6.

2. Mouth taping helps protect your airway

The nose acts as a filter, warming and humidifying air and retaining small particles such as pollen as you inhale. The warmth and moisture prevent dryness and inflammation in the airways.

3. Mouth taping boosts your immune system

When you breathe through your nose, nasal nitric oxide is released. Nitric oxide is a gas that is antiviral, antibacterial, antifungal and anti-parasitic. Scientists consider nitric oxide to be a first line of immune defense against respiratory infection.5

Mouth taping helps to maintain nose breathing during sleep. By doing so, you boost your immune response. It’s called ‘restorative sleep’ for a reason!

4. Mouth taping helps reduce stress

Mouth breathing often results in breath that is fast and from the upper chest. This type of breathing activates your sympathetic nervous system and your ‘fight or flight’ stress response. Nose breathing is slower and engages the diaphragm, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system and the body’s relaxation response, helping to relieve chronic stress.7

When you have a cold or flu, your body’s inflammatory response produces unpleasant symptoms. There’s a direct link between chronic mental stress and the body’s ability to regulate inflammation. People who are stressed are much more likely to develop colds.8

By using mouth tape to breathe only through your nose, you can support your nervous system, experiencing fewer colds and milder inflammatory symptoms.

5. Taping the mouth at night reduces the severity of airway infections including COVID-19

Scientists suggest that taping the mouth during sleep reduces common colds. It may decrease viral load during sleep and “allow the immune system more time to mount an effective antiviral response”.5

A 2020 paper explains that, “mouth breathing during sleep may… worsen the symptoms of COVID-19, consistent with the observation that symptoms of respiratory infections are usually worse in the morning”.5

6. Mouth taping keeps your airways safe as you get older

Sleep-disordered breathing is bad news for older people, causing heart problems, sexual dysfunction and even sudden cardiac death.

For women, lung health can decline after menopause. New research from the British Lung Foundation found that postmenopausal women are nearly 30% more likely to have lower lung function than those who are still menstruating.9 This creates a greater risk of respiratory health problems.

7. Use mouth tape to boost lung health and ward off respiratory infections

A simple way to boost your immune system and protect your airways is to use mouth tape during sleep.

Used alongside a program of breathing exercises, mouth taping will gently help you to restore and maintain healthy breathing for your whole family.

MOUTH TAPING FOR SNORING. DOES IT HELP?

Snoring, despite the humor it attracts, it’s not funny. People who snore experience fragmented, poor-quality sleep, lack of focus and daytime fatigue. If you sleep badly, you are at higher risk of road traffic accidents.10 Snoring and poor sleep quality have serious implications for long-term health, including early mortality.

Snoring is a symptom of sleep-disordered breathing. It happens when a large volume of air passes through a narrow or collapsed airway causing turbulence that makes the tissues in the throat vibrate. Sounds gentle? It isn’t. The loudest snore on record was 120 decibels – the same volume as an emergency siren.

It can be surprisingly hard to know if you snore. But if you often feel breathless, have a stuffy nose and breathe through your mouth during the day, it’s likely your nighttime breathing is below par. If you wake up with a dry mouth, bad breath and a sore throat, you probably breathe through your mouth at night. Carrying a little extra weight doesn’t help (fat on the neck, jaw, tongue and tummy contributes to snoring and sleep apnea) but fit, healthy people can suffer too.

In health terms, snoring is no joke. Habitual snoring is related to insulin resistance (a pre-diabetes state)11,12 and obstructive sleep apnea13. In children with excessive snoring, if the condition is left untreated past the age of eight, they have a four in five chance of a permanent 20% reduction in mental capacity13.

Many snorers are used to opening their mouths while they sleep. Maintaining a closed mouth and nose breathing while they are asleep ensures a reduction in snoring as well as obstructive sleep apnea. It’s time to find a way to close your mouth during sleep.

IS MOUTH TAPING GOOD FOR ASTHMA?

Mouth taping in conjunction with Buteyko breathing exercises for asthma is incredibly beneficial to asthma sufferers. Learning to nose breathe can be a life changing positive for those with asthma or other respiratory disorders like bronchitis and bronchiectasis. Attendees of Buteyko Breathing Method courses typically see a 50% reduction in asthma symptoms after two weeks of following the program. Mouth taping is an essential part of that program, helping to train the body to switch from mouth to nasal breathing permanently. Learn Buteyko Breathing for Asthma

DOES MOUTH TAPING HELP SLEEP APNEA?

Sleep apnea is a severe form of sleep-disordered breathing linked with conditions including cardiovascular disease14, sexual dysfunction15, diabetes and even premature death16. If you mouth breathe during the day, you increase the chance of developing obstructive sleep apnea. While breathing through the nose during sleep significantly reduces obstructive sleep apnea, one must also practice breathing light, slow and low. If you are considering mouth taping, sleep apnea is very possibly the reason. Obstructive sleep apnea is a surprisingly common condition that is underdiagnosed17. Mouth breathing can be responsible for worsening sleep apnea conditions and in many cases it is suspected that mouth breathing is the very cause of obstructive sleep apnea.

During sleep apnea, the breathing stops altogether for several seconds, causing you to wake intermittently as blood oxygen levels drop. Scientists have proven that sleep apnea symptoms are much worse during mouth breathing18. If you use CPAP to treat sleep apnea, mouth breathing is the primary reason for treatment non-compliance19.

If you’re trying to improve sleep for your child, you may consider an operation to remove the adenoids and/or tonsils. This is a common procedure, but unfortunately it only provides a long-term solution in 27% of children.20 After surgery, without appropriate follow-on support, most children will revert to habitual mouth breathing.

The leading sleep expert, Dr. Christian Guilleminault stated from his research that the only sure-fire solution in the treatment of childhood sleep apnea is the restoration of full-time nose breathing21. Mouth taping helps to ensure nose breathing during sleep, thereby reducing obstructive sleep apnea.

CAN MOUTH BREATHING CHANGE YOUR FACE? HOW MOUTH TAPING CAN HELP CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT

As parents, you do everything you can to protect your children. But what would you do if you found out your child’s breathing was causing them permanent harm?

About 50% of children breathe through an open mouth.22 This is not healthy. Mouth breathing is what’s known as a ‘pathological’ condition, meaning it relates to disease. When children breathe through an open mouth during sleep, they can experience sleep-disordered breathing, snoring and sleep apnea.

Receding chin and crooked teeth in children are indicators that the jaw did not fully develop. Factors that contribute to poor development of the jaws include:

• Mouth breathing
• Tongue tied
• Eating soft foods
• Lack of breast feeding
• Thumb sucking

Many dentists and orthodontists like the renowned Dr. John Mew believe that nose breathing and correct resting tongue posture are essential for proper growth of the face, teeth and airways. When a child’s habitual mouth breathing is left untreated, it causes:

• Crooked teeth, narrow airways and an elongated lower jaw.
• A lifetime of breathing problems and health issues.
• Poor oxygenation of the brain, affecting cognition, behavior and learning ability.
• Changes in the way the muscles of the lips, tongue and cheeks work, affecting essential tasks like swallowing and chewing and resulting in speech disorders.

Scientists have identified mouth breathing as a factor in ADHD and ADD diagnoses23. Research also reports that if a child is left with untreated snoring past the age of eight, they have an 80% chance of experiencing a permanent 20% reduction in mental capacity24.

How Can I Help My Child’s Development?

There are THREE practical steps you can take right away:

1. You should speak with your child’s doctor.
2. You can begin practicing daily breathing exercises with your child.
3. You can use mouth taping to restore nasal breathing.

CAN MOUTH TAPING HELP ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE?

Article: How to Breathe During Exercise.

When used in combination with functional breathing exercises, mouth taping can be an athlete’s secret weapon. Mouth taping is an important part of promoting full time nose breathing and there are many benefits to nose breathing for athletic performance.

Mouth breathing during training makes airways more vulnerable to exercise-induced asthma, allergens and respiratory infection. It limits the amount of oxygen that gets to the blood, supporting the working muscles and it causes sleep-disordered breathing. This leads to poor quality sleep that takes the edge off your game.

Exercise induced asthma, also known as exercise induced bronchoconstriction is a surprisingly common occurrence among athletes with an estimated 20-50% of athletes, experiencing it in their lives to some degree.25

Excessive mouth breathing during exercise can lead to a tightening of the airways (bronchoconstriction). This narrows our airways, causing a blockage in the flow of air to the lungs, making it harder to breathe and often leading to breathlessness, coughing, wheezing and in some cases a full blown asthma attack.

Whether you’re a professional athlete or just enjoy keeping fit, nose breathing boosts energy and stamina, enhances sleep and protects airway health. By using Buteyko Breathing Method techniques and a mouth tape, we can train the body to breathe through the nose permanently and gain the advantage in competition and recovery.

WHAT TO CONSIDER BEFORE TAPING YOUR MOUTH

Mouth taping is completely safe for most people but if you are suffering certain health problems, then there are a few things to consider before trying mouth taping.

• Have you any kind of heart condition?
• Do you suffer from anxiety or panic disorder?
• Are you prone to panic or anxiety attacks?
• Is there a danger of severe acid reflux or vomiting?

If any of these or other serious medical conditions affect you, then consult with a medical professional before trying mouth taping for sleep.

MOUTH TAPING ALTERNATIVES

There are numerous alternatives to mouth taping. One example is the elasticated chin strap, worn around the head and chin to keep the mouth closed during sleep.

Other alternative tapes include the porous oral patch, micropore paper tape, porous tape and others. A possible alternative to mouth taping is learning functional breathing exercises such as the Buteyko Breathing Method as taught by Buteyko Clinic.

However, Buteyko breathing exercises during the day work best when used in conjunction with nose breathing during sleep. The best way to do this is by taping the mouth at night.

WHAT IS THE BEST MOUTH TAPE FOR SLEEP?

MyoTape is a best breathing aid to train the healthy habit of nose breathing. Unlike other mouth tapes, MyoTape does not ‘seal’ the mouth, instead it surrounds the mouth, reminding you to close your lips.

MyoTape supports nose breathing, preventing the airway from collapsing during sleep and supporting optimum lung capacity. By making the switch to nose breathing during sleep, you will experience deeper, more restful sleep and reduced mouth snoring and sleep apnea.

MyoTape can be used:

• With children aged four years and up
• To support CPAP compliance
• During the day to re-train the breathing
• During sleep to maintain nose breathing

When you sleep better, your body is able to recover more quickly. When we can recover more quickly we feel more relaxed, in control and energized. Scientists have found that 83.5% of mouth breathers are able to comfortably breathe through the nose26. If you can breathe through your nose for one minute, you can do so during sleep.

If the thought of taping your mouth closed makes you anxious, try applying MyoTape in the evening before you go to bed. This will reassure you that the tape is safe to wear. MyoTape can be used with children aged 4 and over for up to 2 hours during the day, and by athletes to maintain nasal breathing.

MOUTH TAPING RESEARCH

• Effect of mouth taping at night on asthma control–a randomized single-blind crossover study.
• The Impact of Mouth-Taping in Mouth-Breathers with Mild Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Preliminary Study.
• Breathing Re-Education and Phenotypes of Sleep Apnea: A Review.
• Effect of mouth leak on effectiveness of nasal bi-level ventilatory assistance and sleep architecture.
• Mouth puffing phenomena of patients with obstructive sleep apnea when mouth-taped: device’s efficacy confirmed with physical video observation.

REFERENCES

1. https://www.healthline.com/health/mouth-breathing
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3. Jay Summer. “Mouth taping for sleep.” Sleep Foundation.
4. McKeown, Patrick. The Breathing Cure: Exercises to Develop New Breathing Habits for a Healthier, Happier and Longer Life. (2021) OxyAt Books.
5. Martel, Jan “Could nasal nitric oxide help to mitigate the severity of COVID-19?”. Microbes Infect (2020) May-June; 22(4): 168–171. Published online 2020 May 6. Doi: 10.1016/j.micinf.2020.05.002.
6. Kukwa, Wojciech, et al. “Prevalence of upper respiratory tract infections in habitually snoring and mouth breathing children.” International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology 107, (2018): 37-41.
7. Sinha, Anant Narayan. Assessment of the Effects of Pranayama/Alternate Nostril Breathing on the Parasympathetic Nervous System in Young Adults. J Clin Diagn Res (2013) May;7(5):821-3. doi: 10.7860/JCDR/2013/4750.2948. Epub 2013 May 1.
8. Carnegie Mellon University. “How stress influences disease: Study reveals inflammation as the culprit.” ScienceDaily. Published April 2, 2012. 
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10. Tefft, Brian C. Prevalence of motor vehicle crashes involving drowsy drivers, United States, 2009-2013. Washington, DC: AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety, 2014.
11. Shin, Chol, et al. “Association of habitual snoring with glucose and insulin metabolism in non-obese Korean adult men.” American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine 171, no. 3 (2005): 287-291.
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13. Mayo Clinic Staff. 
14. American Heart Association editorial staff.
15. Pascual, Mercè, et al. “Erectile dysfunction in obstructive sleep apnea patients: A randomized trial on the effects of Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP).” PloS one 13, no. 8 (2018): e0201930.
16. Al Lawati, Nabil M., et al. “Epidemiology, risk factors, and consequences of obstructive sleep apnea and short sleep duration.” Progress in cardiovascular diseases 51, no. 4 (2009): 285-293.
17. Foldvary-Schaefer NR, Waters TE. “Sleep-disordered breathing. Continuum (Minneap Minn) (2017). 23(4, Sleep Neurology):1093–1116. 
18. Hsu, Yen‐Bin, et al. “Association Between Breathing Route, Oxygen Desaturation, and Upper Airway Morphology.” The Laryngoscope (2020).
19. Bachour, Adel, and Paula Maasilta. “Mouth breathing compromises adherence to nasal continuous positive airway pressure therapy.” Chest 126, no. 4 (2004): 1248-1254.
20. Schupper, Alexander J, et al. “Adenoidectomy in Children: What Is the Evidence and What Is its Role?” Curr Otorhinolaryngol Rep. 2018; 6(1): 64–73. Published online 2018 Mar 2. doi: 10.1007/s40136-018-0190-8. 
21. Guilleminault, C., and S. S. Sullivan. “Towards restoration of continuous nasal breathing as the ultimate treatment goal in pediatric obstructive sleep apnea.” Enliven: Pediatr Neonatol Biol 1, no. 1 (2014): 001.
22. Alqutami, J., et al. “Dental health, halitosis and mouth breathing in 10 to 15-year-old children: A potential connection.” European journal of paediatric dentistry 20, no. 4 (2019): 274.
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