See what experts say about the practice of keeping your mouth taped shut while sleeping

In a video on TikTok, one person claims that “mouth taping” gives him more energy. Others say that the practice gives more definition to the jaw, that it improves the skin, mood and digestion, that it reduces mental lethargy, cavities, periodontitis and bad breath, and, finally, that it strengthens the immune system.

The supposed benefits of “buccal taping”, a simple trick that consists of covering your lips with micropore tape to keep them closed while you sleep, in order to encourage nasal breathing, have been having tremendous repercussions on social networks.

But does science really confirm these benefits? And is it safe to keep your mouth taped shut when you’re sleeping? We consulted some experts to get their opinion.

What are the benefits of breathing through your nose?

Ann Kearney is a speech therapist at Stanford University and studies how taping can help people who snore. According to her, breathing through the nose, at night or during the day, has important benefits.

Nasal breathing is “a more efficient and effective way to breathe” than inhaling and exhaling through the mouth, she said, because it humidifies and filters the air, as well as activating the lower part of the lungs, allowing for deeper, more complete breathing. It can also help the body to relax, helping the person fall asleep.

Nasal breathing helps filter out allergens, pathogens and dust, potentially helping to defend the body against infections and allergies, said Dr. Marri Horvat, a sleep specialist at the Cleveland Clinic.

When you breathe through your nose, your sinuses naturally produce a gas called nitric oxide. When nitric oxide moves from the sinuses into the lungs and into the blood, it can help lower blood pressure, said pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist Dr. Raj Dasgupta of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California. The gas can dilate blood vessels, potentially also improving blood flow.

Sleeping with your mouth open can cause a person to wake up with a dry mouth, Kearney said. This contributes to tooth decay, bad breath, a hoarse voice, and dry, cracked lips.

Does buccal taping bring any proven benefit?

Despite its recent popularity, buccal taping has not been studied extensively. A few small trials have examined whether the practice can alleviate snoring in people who already have preexisting sleep problems, such as obstructive sleep apnea — which occurs when part or all of the upper airway becomes blocked when a person sleeps, causing breathing to briefly stop. and start over again and again throughout the night.

In a small study of people with mild obstructive sleep apnea, researchers found that among 20 patients who slept with their mouths taped shut, 13 snored less with the tape than without it. In another study, this one involving 30 patients with mild obstructive sleep apnea who tended to breathe through their mouths when sleeping, researchers found that people snored less loudly, on average, when they slept with tape over their mouths.

But existing studies of mouth taping are limited, Kearney said, and we know little about how the practice could benefit most people.

The Doctor. Andrew Wellman, a sleep medicine specialist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston who has studied mouth taping, said the practice doesn’t cure conditions like sleep apnea, but it can help people improve airflow and reduce their snoring, potentially helping those who sleep with them get deeper, more restorative sleep.

But some of the other benefits suggested by taping the mouth are not so unequivocal. “There’s zero evidence that you’ll look prettier or your skin will improve” if you do mouth taping, said journalist James Nestor, author of “Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art.”