She also says it may help with nitric oxide production in the body, since the primary source of nitric oxide is in the nasal passages. “Nitric oxide aids in regulating blood pressure and improving circulation, which in turn can boost both heart health and lower BP. Also, nitric oxide is significant in regulating insulin, which in return affects your blood sugar levels,” she says.
What’s So Bad About Mouth Breathing?
How bad is mouth breathing that people are actually taping their mouths shut? According to one expert, mouth breathing is a bigger problem than you’d expect. “Mouth breathing is wildly unhealthy for any person,” says Ben Miraglia, an airway dentist and chief clinical officer at Toothpillow. “There is no amount of mouth breathing that is OK.”
Mouth breathing can cause issues with sleep and breathing in general. Your nose is designed to filter out debris, allergens, and even tiny insects (thank those nose hairs), and it’s designed to give your lungs and throat warmer, more moist air, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Your don’t get these same benefits when you breathe through your mouth. It’ll also make you more likely to develop sleep problems like sleep apnea, a sleep disorder where breathing repeatedly stops and starts.
Miraglia primarily treats children and approaches airway problems from a youth perspective, including larger dental problems, looking at mouth breathing as a problem overall versus just a sleep problem. From a sleep perspective, the interest in mouth breathing usually comes from sleep problems like snoring and sleep apnea, though getting better air all night long (more moist, less debris, etc.) is obviously a big benefit as well.
Do Doctors Recommend Mouth Tape?
If you’re coming here after hearing an anecdotal story about how mouth taping has made someone’s sleep better, you aren’t alone in hearing about mouth tape that way. There are no shortages of these videos online, frequently touting a specific tape they used. But for now, it’s mainly personal perspectives supporting the narrative. “There is currently extremely limited clinical evidence to support the efficacy of mouth tape in managing sleep disorders,” says Benavides. “One small study from 2022, often cited, looked at 20 people with mild sleep apnea. While these participants showed some improvement with mouth tape, the study didn’t include a placebo comparison, and 20 participants is simply not enough to draw solid conclusions.”
That’s not to say it can never be used. Benavides says he has found use for it, even with his obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) patients. Specifically, he has found it useful for OSA patients who want to wear a nasal-only CPAP mask and who could add mouth tape to their nightly setup. “It may help minimize “mouth air leak” (where nasal-entry air escapes through the mouth during therapy) and improve both comfort and adherence. I’ve had success in some individuals,” says Benavides.
Is Mouth Tape Safe?
If you can breathe comfortably through your nose, mouth tape should be safe to do. Where it gets dicey is if you’re trying to use mouth tape to solve a sleep disorder or breathing problems that your nasal passageways might not be able to solve.
“Mouth tape could potentially cause harm in many others. For example, those with moderate to severe sleep apnea may actually find themselves with even more impaired ability to breathe than before. Worse yet, it may further compromise those with central sleep apnea—a different type of apnea disorder,” says Benavides. “Another group to watch out for are those with impaired nasal breathing, as removing the ability to breathe through the mouth severely restricts their remaining—and often much-needed—airflow path.”
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