You have probably seen mouth taping all over your social media feed and wondered why so many people are doing it. Mouth taping is a simple way to prevent breathing through your mouth during the night.

Curious about why nasal breathing matters? I dive into the science in my article Mouth Tape for Sleep: Does it Work?, but for now, let’s see what happened when I put mouth taping to the test.

After gathering all the research, it was time to test mouth taping for myself.

Why do I want to test mouth taping? Here are two main reasons:

Since getting a whoop band, I started tracking my sleep, which was eye-opening. I have noticed a troubling trend in my sleep pattern. Although I get eight hours of sleep each night, I do not get enough deep sleep, and my REM sleep is almost 3 times less than the recommended amount.

Deep sleep and REM sleep are crucial for recovery and cognitive function, so tracking them with my Whoop band gave me a clear picture of any improvements.

I have also noticed that my blood oxygen levels at night stay below 95% quite often. Sometimes, it is 94%, but it also went down to as low as 89%. When I check my blood oxygen levels on a finger pulse oximeter in the morning, my oxygen levels are perfect, between 95% and 99%.

These two sleep issues and constantly waking up with a dry mouth make me think: Is it because I am a mouth breather at night, and does it affect the quality of sleep and the amount of oxygen I get?

Sometimes, I catch myself breathing through my mouth during the day, and I want to experiment and see if mouth-taping would help me get a better night’s sleep and feel refreshed in the morning.

I will tape my mouth for 10 nights for this experiment. I will not change my usual bed routine to ensure that changes in my sleep quality are mainly related to mouth taping.

I will be sleeping with my whoop on and will be monitoring my:

Blood oxygen levels
Deep sleep
REM sleep

Before I start the experiment, here are my two-month average statistics:

Blood oxygen levels: 94% average, but can go as low as 89% or as high as 96%

My restorative sleep averages out at 2:25 hr

Deep sleep: 1:30 hr

REM sleep: 0:55 hr.

Although my REM sleep can go as low as 0:15 per night, improving my REM sleep is my priority as it is essential for a sharp mind, emotional balance, and overall health.

I already have a decent night routine; I noticed my REM improves when I do relaxing breathing exercises and do not at least 3 hours before bed. I will try not to eat too late and go to bed at my usual time but will not practise breathing for 10 days. It is not a randomized controlled trial, and many variables will impact my sleep, so I will try not to change anything in my routine for the 10 days I am testing mouth taping.

Does mouth taping make you feel uncomfortable?

I thought I would struggle way more sleeping with a mouth tape on my mouth, but I found it quite comfortable. When I woke up briefly at night, I did not panic or want to take the tape off. However, taking it off in the morning took some getting used to. I had to learn how to take it off gently so it didn’t hurt, and I wonder if using it for a prolonged period could irritate your skin. After doing it for ten days, my lips and the skin around them are absolutely fine.

A Tape I Used for Mouth Taping

I could not find mouth tape specially designed for mouth taping in any shops near me and did not want to wait long to conduct my experiment, so I got two types of hypoallergenic medical tape in my pharmacy to test out. I ended up only using Urgo Urgopore Sensitive Skin Tape as I like the paper-like feeling of it, and I found it very easy to apply and to take off without causing any discomfort or leaving adhesive behind. If you don’t want to get specialized mouth tape that can be expensive, you can head to your local pharmacy and ask for medical tape and explain how you will be using it, and you should get a cheap and good option for mouth taping.

If you need some mouth tape recommendations, you can find them here.

I usually use a night lip mask, but while mouth taping, I make sure my face is dry and free from oils before I tape my mouth and use a lip mask in the morning instead.

Does Mouth Taping Improve Sleep Quality?

The simple answer is YES! And quite significantly.

Restorative sleep Deep Sleep + REM

I started with my average restorative sleep being 2:25 hr

At the end of my 10-day challenge, it was 3:32 hr!

Without changing the length of my night’s sleep, my restorative sleep increased by 1:07 hours per night! This is pretty impressive for a bit of tape on your lips!

You can see in the graph the market in red how my restorativce sleep increased during 10 nights. there was a drop on the night 8 due to stress and going to bed very late.

Please note that if you sleep with your mouth closed and breathe through your nose, mouth taping might not be as effective for you as it was for me.

Does mouth tape increase Blood oxygen levels at night?

With such excellent results with REM sleep, I hoped that mouth taping would increase the oxygen level in my blood; however, on the third night, it went down to 90% – I hadn’t had blood oxygen so low for a month or so. I tested it with a finger oximeter, which showed 99%. However, it did go back to 95% the next night and stayed at 94-96% for the rest of the 10 nights and even went up to 97%

To my surprise, blood oxygen levels did not increase with mouth taping. I am not sure why, but it might be that my body is still adjusting to breathing more through my nose. I will monitor Blood oxygen levels to see if they stay stable.

Any Other Benefits Of Mouth Taping?

Even if I was focusing on sleep quality and oxygen levels, I did notice a few things that have changed since mouth taping. I don’t have dry mouth in the morning and don’t need to reach for a glass of water during the night as my mouth doesn’t dry out.

I also noticed that it is much easier to get out of bed, and I feel more refreshed, especially in the morning.

Mouth Taping update after a month

As you can see from my Whoop screen grabs above, my Restiorative sleep increased by 47%. As you can see from the picture on the right, my REM sleep was mostly affected.

I was so pleased with the results that tapping my mouth became a part of my night ritual. I will start testing to see if I have learned to breathe through my nose naturally or if I still need the mouth tape.

I used to struggle to get out of bed every morning, but now I get up as soon as my alarm goes off. I can not believe how much of a difference a simple thing like tapping your mouth can make!

Conclusion

I can not believe how much my deep and REM sleep improved by applying a tape on my mouth overnight. I did think it was a bit of a social media trend and another unnecessary thing to add to your night routine. But I am convinced that it is helping me. I will continue to use mouth tape till I develop a habit of sleeping with my mouth shut.

S. Meilunaite

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Silvija Meilunaite PN1-NC, is a certified nutrition coach and a writer in the nutrition and self-improvement field with a passion for exploring science-based knowledge focusing on holistic health and plant-based nutrition.
Featured in the Wellness on Time magazine.

I Tried Mouth Taping for 10 Nights, The Results Surprised Me