Mouth Taping For Better Sleep: Can This Be Dangerous?

People are trying mouth taping to get better sleep. Is this method backed by science and if so how can it benefit you?

If there is one health related problem that is common among most people, that is the lack of adequate sleep or the inability to sleep. The world that we live in partly to blame for our sleeplessness. Every day, every hour, we are either stressed or working or hustling. Sometimes we do not sleep by choice and sometimes we just cannot sleep and even when we do, we are not able to get that sound sleep. Due to this problem which has now become chronic for many people, people are resorting to different exercises, practices and ways to sleep better. Some people try herbal tea, some people try meditation, some people are forced to take pills while others try various trends that pop up on the internet.

What Is Mouth Taping?

A new trend has emerged and people are calling it mouth taping to sleep better. It is exactly what it sounds like. It involves taping your mouth with a soft and porous paper during bed time. Why and what is the aim of this technique? Experts say that you can sleep better when your mouth is closed and you are breathing through your nose. But, some people do not do that and this may be one of the reasons of not getting good sleep at night. When you sleep with your mouth open, you snore and that can disrupt your and others sleep. The aim here is to not encourage mouth-breathing and snoring, as per Cleveland Clinic.

Mouth taping usually involves placing a piece of soft paper or porous tape vertically across the middle of your closed lips at bedtime. The aim is to discourage mouth-breathing and the snoring that may accompany it, according to Cleveland Clinic.

What Are Its Benefits?

Yes, mouth taping has some benefits as per experts.

This is a comparatively new study and there is not enough evidence about this technique but even then there are some aspects which are positive and noteworthy. According to a study published in the JournalOtolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery, these patches helps reduce symptoms of sleep apnea and snoring in exactly 30 people who volunteered in the experiment. In another study published in the Journal Healthcare, the intensity of snoring was reduced in some people as compared to sleeping without tapes.

Experts say that breathing through your nose while sleeping can have these positive effects on health:

• It can lower your blood pressure.
• It can filter allergens from the air.
• It can regulate the temperature of your breath.
• It can keep your airways moisturised.
• It can decrease anxiety.

Mouth Taping And Its Possible Detrimental Effects On Health

However, experts still do not recommend that people try this at home without doctors advise and guidelines:

1. It can cause obstructive breathing
2. It can trigger symptoms of sleep apnea
3. It can cause an allergic reaction on the skin because of the tape
4. It does not really help any kind of sleep related conditions, you can breathe through your nose without a tape too.

Moreover, mouth taping can go wrong in some cases, even if it may be by accident.