Does mouth taping work? What the research says about mouth taping for sleep
Short answer
So far, mouth taping for sleep has little scientific support. A 2025 systematic review in PLOS ONE looked at 10 studies with 213 people. It found no reliable benefit for most people, a slight improvement only in some people with mild sleep apnea, and a potentially serious risk for anyone whose nose is blocked. If you want to try it, make sure you can breathe freely through your nose first, and measure whether it changes anything.
What is mouth taping?
Mouth taping means putting a strip of tape over your lips before you go to sleep, so that you have to breathe through your nose. It became a social media trend around 2023 to 2024, and searches for it in the US now run at about 60,000 a month.
The claimed benefits of mouth taping
The idea behind it is sound: nasal breathing is better for sleep than mouth breathing. The benefits people usually claim for mouth taping are:
- Less snoring
- No more dry mouth or sore throat in the morning
- Deeper, more restful sleep
- Better breathing habits during the day
The question is whether forcing the mouth shut with tape actually delivers those benefits.
What the research says
The best summary so far is a 2025 systematic review in PLOS ONE by researchers at Western University in Canada. It reviewed 10 studies with 213 participants in total.
- Two studies found a slight improvement in sleep apnea scores in some people with mild obstructive sleep apnea.
- The others found no evidence that mouth taping improves mouth breathing, snoring or sleep-disordered breathing.
- Four studies pointed to a risk of suffocation for people whose nasal airway is severely blocked.
The authors concluded that current evidence does not support mouth taping as a treatment. The studies were small, so the honest answer is that we don't know yet whether it helps anyone.
Who should not try mouth taping
Don't tape your mouth if:
- Your nose is often blocked, from allergies, a cold, chronic rhinitis or a deviated septum
- You have, or suspect you have, sleep apnea and haven't talked to a doctor
- You have been drinking alcohol or have taken sedatives
- You feel sick or might vomit
- The person is a child
Alternatives to mouth taping
If the goal is to breathe through your nose at night, start with the reasons you don't. Clearing a congested nose, nasal strips or dilators, and sleeping on your side all make the nose the easier route without blocking the mouth. Our guide on how to stop mouth breathing at night goes through them step by step.
How to tell whether mouth taping works for you
Most people judge mouth taping by how they feel the next morning, which is a weak signal. A better test is to measure the same thing before and after: how much of the night you breathe through your nose, how much you snore, and how many gaps there are in your breathing.
FLOU measures exactly that. It is a nasal breathing monitor worn across the bridge of the nose, so you can compare a week with tape to a week without, and see whether anything actually changed.
Frequently asked questions
Is mouth taping safe?
For a healthy adult who can breathe freely through their nose, the risk appears low, but there is little evidence of benefit. It is not safe if your nose is blocked, if you have untreated sleep apnea, after alcohol or sedatives, or for children.
Does mouth taping help with snoring?
The research so far does not show that mouth taping reliably reduces snoring. Sleeping on your side and treating nasal congestion have a clearer effect for many people.
What are the benefits of mouth taping?
The claimed benefits are less snoring, less dry mouth and better sleep. A 2025 review of 10 studies found only a slight improvement in some people with mild sleep apnea and no clear benefit for others.
What can I use instead of mouth tape?
Nasal strips or dilators, saline rinses, treating allergies and sleeping on your side all encourage nasal breathing without closing the mouth.
FLOU is a wellness device. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. This guide is general information, not medical advice. Talk to a clinician about sleep-disordered breathing.