You’ve probably seen it on TikTok by now. Someone carefully places a strip of tape across their lips before drifting off to sleep, then wakes up the next morning claiming to feel amazing. They say their jawline looks sharper, their skin glows, and — most importantly — they’ve slept better than ever.
This is the bizarre world of mouth taping, a social media–fueled phenomenon that has transformed a simple roll of tape into a magic bullet for better sleep. Celebrities tout it as a “beauty tip of life.” Influencers assure their followers it will reduce snoring, banish bad breath, and even ease anxiety.
But doctors and researchers are worried. Their message is blunt: taping your mouth shut while you sleep may do more harm than good.
The Science vs. the Hype
The supposed logic behind mouth taping is straightforward: seal your lips, force your body to breathe through your nose, and you’ll sleep better.
Nose breathing does have advantages. Fine nasal hairs filter out dust and allergens. Breathing this way also humidifies air before it reaches your lungs and may even help regulate blood pressure.
Still, the evidence that taping your mouth shut delivers these benefits is thin. A review by Canadian researchers published this year looked at 10 studies involving 213 people with breathing-related sleep problems like obstructive sleep apnea. Eight studies looked at mouth taping, and two studies involved using a chin strap to keep the mouth shut. Only two studies showed that mouth taping provided modest improvements in oxygen levels and the number of nighttime breathing interruptions. But even those improvements weren’t considered “clinically significant.” In other words, the changes wouldn’t make much difference in real life.
“The studies behind mouth tape are small, the benefits are modest and the potential risks are there,” Dr. Kimberly Hutchison, a neurologist and sleep medicine expert at Oregon Health & Science University, told the Associated Press.
Most studies found no benefits at all.
But What Could Go Wrong?
Plenty.
Four studies in the review raised red flags about safety. Covering the mouth can pose a risk of asphyxiation, especially for people with nasal blockages from conditions like hay fever, deviated septum, or enlarged tonsils.
Canadian sleep specialist Dr. Brian Rotenberg put it starkly: taping or strapping the mouth shut “could pose a serious risk of asphyxiation in the presence of nasal obstruction or regurgitation.”
And that’s not the only concern. About 30 million Americans have sleep apnea, a condition where breathing repeatedly stops during sleep. An estimated 23.5 million of them don’t even know they have it. Mouth taping could make this condition far worse, depriving the brain and body of oxygen. Untreated apnea is linked to heart disease, stroke, diabetes, depression, and even early death.
“The reason sleep apnea can be bad is that any decrease in the quality of sleep can affect you day to day or over the course of your life,” said Dr. Brian Chen of the Cleveland Clinic.
Doctors also point out that mouth breathing itself is not usually a medical emergency. Yes, it can cause dry mouth, irritated throat, and dental problems. But taping the mouth isn’t the answer.
So What Should You Do Instead?
Experts stress that if you’re snoring, waking up groggy, or struggling with sleep, the real solution is figuring out why. “It’s always better to know than not know,” said Dr. David Schulman of Emory University. A sleep test — sometimes done at home — can reveal whether conditions like apnea are behind the problem.
From there, treatments range from CPAP machines to dental mouthpieces to lifestyle changes like quitting smoking or losing weight. These approaches are backed by decades of research.
Even for those who want to try mouth taping after consulting a doctor, experts warn against TikTok-style extremes. “I’ve heard crazy things on social media where people are using duct tape or taking the big piece of tape and really covering their mouth,” Ann Kearney, a speech-language pathologist at Stanford University, told CNN. Instead, she says, people should use a small piece of medical-grade tape—and only after making sure their nasal passages are clear.
She adds that tongue posture matters too. “The tongue has to be up and in the forward position or you’re not going to get the benefits of the nasal breathing.”
The allure of mouth taping is obvious: it’s a cheap, DIY hack that promises beauty, better sleep, and wellness. But science says those promises are mostly smoke and mirrors — and the risks are real.
