Mouth tape can help you sleep? That might sound a bit odd to say the least but taping your mouth is one of the most effective ways to improve the quality of your sleep. Human beings are absolutely intended to breathe through the nose, and mouth breathing isn’t natural at all. In fact, it’s a dysfunctional breathing pattern.
As I pointed out in this article, mouth breathing is directly linked to sleep apnea and other sleep disordered breathing conditions. These include UARS (Upper Airway Resistance Syndrome) and snoring. Mouth breathing is also linked to a host of other adverse health concerns such as dental cavities and gum disease, gastrointestinal disturbances, headaches, facial pain and tension, jaw pain and tension, and even ADD and ADHD symptoms in children.
So breathing through your mouth definitely isn’t all that good for you.
Mouth tape and mouth taping have actually become quite a big thing on the Internet in recent years. There are dozens of articles and YouTube videos about this topic (I have a YouTube video on the subject, which you can watch below). Companies are springing up our of nowhere to offer products to help people tape their mouth closed at night.
But why on Earth would anyone tape their mouth closed while they sleep? And is it even possible to sleep with your mouth closed? I’ll answer these questions and more below.
Why Is Mouth Tape A Good Idea?
In my myofunctional therapy practice, I always tell my patients that we’re working on mastering The Four Goals of Myofunctional Therapy and if they can master them, we’ll make great progress.
The Four Goals are:
Nasal breathing day and night
Lip seal day and night
Proper tongue posture day and night
Correct swallowing pattern
Breathing through the nose during the day AND at night is critical to achieving oral, and overall health, so I always work with my patients to help them stop a mouth breathing habit. Myofunctional therapy exercises are designed to change habits, and they’re very effective when done diligently.
At some stage of my programs, where applicable, I suggest that my patients try taping their mouth at night. Their reaction varies from thinking it’s a good idea to thinking I’m crazy, and all points in between. But once I explain the benefits of mouth taping, and that they don’t have to apply a huge piece of tape all over their face, most are willing to try it. And most are very happy that they did!
Being able to breathe through the nose all night long can make a huge difference to the way we feel when we wake up in the morning because it can improve the quality of sleep.
It also means being less likely to have dental cavities, gum disease, and bad breath, all of which have been linked with mouth breathing.
How To Use Mouth Tape
I only suggest taping your mouth at night after you’ve tried it during the day for a while to get used to it. Taping your mouth is safe and effective when you do it right, and in the video below from my YouTube channel, I’ll explain why and how to tape your mouth.
I’ll cover what tape to use, when to try it, how to apply it, and how taping ties into my myofunctional therapy programs. I’ll also go into other options you can try if you’d like to explore alternatives that could improve your health. I hope you enjoy it!
Which Mouth Tape Do I Use?
There are a number of options available but the tape I recommend is Snorless Strips, which you can find on Amazon. I use this brand myself and supply it to all my patients in their treatment kits. I know it works well. It’s also quite cost effective if you only use a small amount at a time as I do.
