To me, sleep is sacred. Most nights, I’m in bed early and sleep heavily, without interruption.
Still, as a health reporter immersed in the world of wellness trends, I’ve been told there are ways to get even more out of my eight hours by doing one simple thing: taping my mouth shut as I sleep.
As a nighttime mouth breather and occasional snorer, I could be putting myself at greater risk for gum disease, dry mouth and cavities, and I’ve seen countless videos on TikTok telling me the only thing standing between me and my dream face – one without puffiness and with a sharp, supermodel jaw – was my sleep routine.
So for the month of October, I slept with an H-shaped piece of cotton-blend medical tape over my mouth, aiming to reduce my mouth breathing at night.
Proponents, mainly those in alternative medicine, say mouth taping has countless benefits. Some include: improved sleep, increased energy, decreased allergies, decreased puffiness and a better tongue posture, which can purportedly help create a more defined jawline.
Traditional medicine says none of those benefits have been demonstrated in the lab.
Dr Jamie Winn, the Medical Director at Universal Drugstore, told me taping my mouth to sleep at night had no scientific backing. He advised against using it to prevent snoring and said anyone who was using it for that purpose should first consult a doctor.
Dr Winn said: ‘Most of the evidence supporting the benefits of mouth taping is based on personal anecdotes or extremely limited studies. There is insufficient strong scientific evidence to confirm its effectiveness.’
So at best, I could wake up with a new face. At worst, the tape could be a rip off, and ruin my sleep.
The cotton blend of the mouth tapes was soft, and the adhesive used is strong but not difficult to pull off. I felt like it left a residue around my mouth
Vio2 is just one of many brands that offers medical-grade mouth tape. The price, which is $24.95 for a package of 48 mouth tapes, is fairly standard compared to other competitors
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Still, despite the skepticism, I was full steam ahead. When I cracked open my $24.95 package of 48 mouth tapes, I found the instructions straight forward.
The packaging says the tape can be worn to help ‘train athletes in proper breathing, give you a chance at a great night’s sleep or even help your partner reduce mouth snoring.’
Dr. David Shaker, a doctor of osteopathy, a licensed physician who practices holistic medicine as well conventional techniques, said there are definite benefits for breathing through the nose: ‘I wouldn’t overlook the nose – nose breathing is great for you.’
Breathing through your nose during the day can help you get a higher oxygen content into the lungs, slowing the uptake and lowering blood pressure, making you feel calmer while increasing oxygenation, he said.
Dr Chelsea Perry, a sleep specialist and dentist based in Massachusetts, added breathing through your nose reduces your risk of developing dry mouth, gum disease and cavities.
So, she said, for some people, mouth taping could have benefits, but it’s not for everyone, especially those who have trouble nose breathing.
You have the option of wearing the mouth tape either vertically (pictured) or horizontally across your mouth. Dr Shaker does not recommend wearing it horizontally, as it may block emergency air flow through the mouth
Still, Dr Perry said: ‘Theoretically, you could get all these benefits [from mouth taping]. But the studies on mouth taping are so limited, it’s hard to say.’
Nevertheless, I persisted.
On night one, after doing my skincare routine, I gently applied the mouth tape to my lips and laid in bed at 10:30 pm.
The adhesive held onto my skin despite the layers of cream I had slapped on, which was an upside.
But immediately, I started thinking about what happened if I wanted to drink water, or if my roommate came in to talk.
I told myself those were silly questions, and tried to settle in.
Before long, my attempts to quiet my mind gave way to a genuine feeling of claustrophobic panic – I didn’t realize how much I relied on my mouth.
Dr Perry said of all her concerns, ‘Claustrophobia is definitely a big one.’
After tossing and turning and doing deep nose breathing for about 30 minutes, I finally fell asleep. Then, at 4:00 am, I woke up, and couldn’t fall back for about 15 minutes.
I almost never wake up in the middle of the night.
I was tempted to rip the tape off, but was stubbornly picturing the new jawline that TikTokers said I would have, and was determined to keep the tape on.
But Dr Shaker said people should never put a piece of tape horizontally across their mouth while sleeping because you could completely block the airflow.
Whoops, my bad.
Before beginning the month of mouth taping, I was hoping to see some improvements in jaw shape. Sadly, I didn’t notice any appreciable differences in my jaw after finishing the mouth taping
Per the instructions on the back of my VIO2 tape, I had tried positioning the tape both horizontally and vertically across my lips. I found the horizontal position, where my mouth was essentially sealed shut, more comfortable.
It’s true that if you’re struggling to breathe through your nose and have your mouth taped while you’re asleep, you will probably wake up and be able to take the tape off your mouth.
But long term, doing this every night will disrupt your overall sleep quality.
It would be better therefore to use the tape vertically across your mouth, so that air can get through the sides if you need it. There are also some brands of tapes with holes in the middle.
This is the same concern doctors have for people with undiagnosed sleep apnea. Sleep apnea is a condition where interruptions to your nighttime airflow cause you to wake up frequently during the night.
Though it sounds harmless enough, long term, it increases your risk of stroke, heart disease and heart failure, and the poor quality of sleep can cause depression, mood swings and irritability.
I tried putting the tape on my mouth vertically, but found it didn’t change my experience, and that I was actually more comfortable with it horizontal on my lips.
In the morning, peeling the tape off my mouth wasn’t painful, but it was unpleasant. As a person with sensitive skin, I cringed at the tugging sensation and tried to gently rub off the residual glue with water.
On the positive side though, I had no morning breath.
This exact pattern persisted nightly throughout week one – panic, sleep, wake up, panic, fall back asleep, wake up groggy.
By day 10, I wasn’t waking up in the middle of the night anymore, and my first move in the morning wasn’t to remove the tape from my lips, so I supposed I was getting used to it. Still, I certainly didn’t feel more energized.
My diary entry from that day reads: ‘I am so so so sleepy today. Cannot focus. Need to work. Feels like I’m moving through jello… Woke up with big juicy white head on my chin next to flap of the bandage – coincidence?’
Supermodel Ashley Graham revealed that she has started taping her mouth closed before she falls asleep at night. There are many different brands of mouth tape out there, and Graham appears to use a medical tape. Other celebrity proponents include Gwyneth Paltrow and Jimmy Fallon
Over the next week, I had small, angry pimples on my chin and lips. Mouth tape can cause skin irritation and clogged pores – leading to breakouts, according to Curology.
Clearly.
Dr Shaker didn’t have concerns about my skin, but he noted the mouth tape could come with a more serious condition.
In severe cases, Dr Shaker said he was worried about people’s potential to get something called aspiration pneumonia – a scenario that occurs when vomit or spit can’t leave the mouth and instead gets breathed in, infecting the lungs.
With this concern plaguing my mind, I skipped the mouth tape on nights after I had a few drinks, terrified of choking on my own vomit.
Still, I returned during the week, rationalizing that if anything bad happened in the night, it would probably wake me up and I would be able to remove the tape quickly.
For the rest of the month, this was more or less the same. My acne persisted, my sleep had stabilized, but I was tired.
I had hope still, that I would awake one day with an Adonis jaw line.
Dr Perry sadly dashed my hopes, saying: ‘Unfortunately, short of surgery, you’re not really going to change the shape of your jaw line.’
At the end of my month, I felt and looked more or less the same, only a bit stickier around the mouth.
If you’re interested in trying it out, both doctors I spoke to said you should consult a doctor first to rule out any underlying conditions that could make it harder for you to breathe at night.
I didn’t see any benefits to mouth taping, but they said it’s possible for it to work for others.
Dr Perry said: ‘If all is clear, then you have a blessing to try it. You know, see what works for you, as long as you’re really taking those precautions, right? You don’t want it to be deleterious.’
