Mouth Taping: Should You Tape Your Mouth at Night? A Breathing Coach’s View

If you’ve scrolled social media lately, you’ve probably seen someone sticking tape over their lips before bed and promising better sleep, a sharper jawline and more energy. As a breathing coach, I get asked about mouth taping almost every week. Here’s my honest take.

Why is everyone talking about nose breathing?

MERRYN: Your nose is designed for breathing. It filters, warms and humidifies the air, and it naturally slows your breathing down. Chronic mouth breathing, especially at night, often goes along with snoring, a dry mouth in the morning, broken sleep and feeling tired even after a full night in bed. So the idea behind mouth taping makes sense: keep the mouth closed and you’ll breathe through your nose.

So does mouth taping work?

MERRYN: The honest answer is that the research is still thin. A 2025 review of the studies found little good-quality evidence that mouth taping improves sleep for most people, and it raised safety concerns for some. Some people with mild snoring do report that it helps. But the viral claims about jawlines, anxiety and focus are way ahead of the science.

In my Oxygen Advantage work, a light strip of tape is sometimes used as a reminder to keep the lips together. It is never a way to seal the mouth completely, and it comes after you’ve built comfortable nasal breathing during the day, not before.

Who should NOT tape their mouth?

• Anyone who snores loudly, gasps or stops breathing during sleep, or wakes up exhausted. These can be signs of sleep apnoea, and taping can mask a serious problem. See your GP first, as you may need a sleep study.
• Anyone with a blocked nose, a cold, hay fever, a deviated septum or nasal polyps
• Children
• Anyone who has had alcohol or sedating medication
• Anyone who feels anxious or panicky with their mouth closed
• Anyone with reflux, nausea or a condition that could cause vomiting

What I’d suggest instead: start in the daytime

MERRYN: Your night-time breathing tends to follow your daytime habits. Try these first:

1. Notice. Check in a few times a day. Is your mouth open while you’re at your desk, scrolling or walking?
2. Lips together, tongue up. Rest your tongue gently on the roof of your mouth and breathe softly through your nose.
3. Walk with your mouth closed. Start at an easy pace. If you need to gasp through your mouth, slow down. Over a few weeks you’ll find you can go further.
4. Breathe light. Sit comfortably and take slightly smaller, slower breaths through your nose for 3–5 minutes, until you feel a gentle “air hunger”. It’s a calming way to wind down before bed.
5. Clear your nose. If your nose always feels blocked, that’s worth investigating with your GP rather than taping over.

The bottom line

Mouth taping isn’t a magic fix, and it isn’t safe for everyone. Nose breathing, on the other hand, is a skill worth building, and it can make a real difference to how you sleep, train and handle stress.

If you’d like to learn to breathe better for sleep, sport or stress, read about my Performance Breathing sessions or book an appointment online.

This article is general information only and isn’t a substitute for advice about your own health. If you have concerns about your sleep or breathing, speak with your GP.