Mouth taping is the practice of taping one’s mouth shut to breathe through the nose during sleep.
It is believed to improve sleep quality and reduce snoring.
Popularized by athletes and social networks, this technique presents risks.
Follow the full coverage
Good in his body, good in his head
Popular on social networks and popularized by some athletes during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, mouth taping consists of taping your mouth with adhesive tape in order to breathe through your nose during sleep. In an interview with Sky News, Adam Burgess, silver medalist in canoe slalom, explains: “I’ve been doing this for seven or eight years. Correcting my breathing when I was 25 was decisive for me. It allowed me to stay physically and mentally fit and improve my performance.“
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A false good idea
Today, more and more TikTok influencers and followers are touting this technique and promising more restful, better quality sleep. However, there is no scientific evidence on the supposed benefits of mouth taping. Maxime Elbaz, doctor in neuroscience, sleep specialist and scientific director at BioSerenity, explains to 20 Minutes : “Taping your mouth to improve your sleep has absolutely no scientific basis. No serious study has demonstrated its effectiveness. It’s only a fashion effect, a false good idea, certainly not a good practice.”
Mouth taping can even be dangerous. In fact, by taping your mouth shut, you prevent yourself from breathing and therefore provide less oxygen to your lungs, brain and muscles. Furthermore, in the event of a blocked nose or sleep apnea, the emergency breathing route is blocked. However, in the middle of REM sleep, there is no guarantee that we will be able to free our mouth by removing the tape. “Imagine a person who has, for example, a problem with a deviated nasal septum, or a problem with the nasal cavity, and condemns his mouth when he already has problems breathing through his nose, that makes no sense.“, protests Doctor Elbaz. Furthermore, this practice can also cause dermatological problems. “Taping your mouth can cause an allergy to the tape, which can cause a rash, an itchy rash, and other uncomfortable spots.“, adds the doctor.
Finding the right treatment
During the night, physiological breathing occurs only through the nose. Breathing through the mouth is reserved for exercise. If there is a problem opening the mouth, it is best to consult an ENT or sleep specialist.
Furthermore, rather than opting for this esoteric solution to overcome snoring or sleep apnea, it is better, here too, to consult a health professional. Doctor Adrian Salmon explains to Version Femina : “Snoring is the vibration of the soft tissues in our throat when space for air passage is reduced. It is common and does not mean that you have sleep apnea permanently. However, it may be necessary to research sleep apnea if your sleep quality is reduced or your daytime activities are affected by sleepiness or fatigue.“
There are several solutions today to treat snoring. A doctor may, for example, prescribe mandibular orthoses, physiotherapy or orthodontics, which are much more effective in treating mechanical obstructions of the airways.
