There are numerous sleep accessories out there, from essential oil pillow spray to sleep masks, among others. But currently, the most popular among sleep deprived people is sleep tapes, also known as mouth taping. The question however is, does this method really work, and if yes, how does it improve sleep?
Mouth taping involves using a medical tape to seal your lips together before going to bed. You can buy your pack here. The method is most effective to those who sleep with their mouth open as it forces the mouth to remain shut as you sleep, encouraging nasal breathing.
When you breathe through the nose, the nasal system filters, warms, and humidifies the air before it reaches your lungs. It also reduces snoring, among other benefits that we’re going to discuss in this post.
1. Encourages Nasal Breathing
Sleep tapes physically prevent the mouth from opening during sleep. This forces you to breathe through the nose instead of the mouth. As earlier mentioned, nasal breathing helps filter, warm, and humidify the air before it reaches the lungs. This minimizes the risk of catching respiratory ailments such as asthma, sinusitis, nose bleeding, and bronchitis.
As the nasal system filters the air, it increases the amount of oxygen that reaches the lungs. The improved oxygenation enhances overall sleep quality by reducing the severity of sleep-disordered breathing, such as sleep apnea. Breathing through the nose also minimizes the vibrations that cause snoring. This results in fewer sleep disruptions, leading to better sleep for you and your partner.
2. Improves Oral Hygiene
By encouraging nasal breathing and improving oral health, mouth taping potentially improves oral hygiene and sleep quality.
When you breathe through the mouth, it leads to a dry mouth, which increases the risks of dental issues, such as tooth decay and gum disease. Sleep tapes encourage nasal breathing, ensuring your mouth stays moist throughout the night. This maintains a healthy oral environment. Good oral hygiene reduces build up of bacteria that leads to bad breath, which can be embarrassing and uncomfortable.
3. Reduces Bruxism
If you experience bruxism episodes at night, then you know how bad it can be on sleep quality and overall sleep health. These episodes cause frequent arousals and awakenings, leading to fragmented and poor-quality sleep. Not to mention the disturbance the clenching and grinding noises can have on your sleep and that of your partner.
Sleep tapes encourage nasal breathing by forcing the mouth to remain shut during sleep. Since nasal breathing is less likely to cause vibrations, it minimizes instances of teeth clenching and grinding associated with bruxism. By reducing the disruptive effects of bruxism, such as frequent arousals and awakenings, mouth taping helps improve overall sleep quality.
4. Helps Overcome Sleep-related Anxiety
People suffering from sleep-related anxiety find it difficult to fall or stay asleep. Such people experience increased sleep disturbances, like insomnia, nightmares, and frequent awakenings. The fragmented sleep patterns result in poor sleep quality, which can lead to a negative impact on the person’s cognitive function.
Mouth taping helps mitigate these sleep disturbances by promoting nasal breathing and reducing the disruptive effects of mouth breathing. By improving sleep quality, sleep tapes also reduces daytime fatigue, cognitive impairment, and any other negative consequences that may arise from poor sleep quality.
5. Reduces Dry Mouth and Sore Throat
Breathing through the mouth instead of the nose can lead to a dry mouth and throat, as the air passing through the mouth is not humidified like nasal air. By using sleep tapes to keep the mouth shut, you encourage nasal breathing, which helps keep the mouth and throat moist and hydrated.
Mouth taping also eliminates the repeated opening and closing of the mouth in people with sleep apnea. When the mouth is shut throughout the night, it retains moisture in the throat, minimizing the risk of dry mouth and sore throat.
6. Improves Sleep Architecture
There are various sleep stages namely, light sleep, deep sleep, and rapid eye movement. Spending adequate time in each of these stages means that you have an optimal sleep architecture,which is important for physical and cognitive restoration. But if you’re suffering from sleep anxiety or any other sleep disorder that may disrupt the normal sleep architecture, you’ll end up getting poor quality sleep.
That’s where sleep tapes come in. By reducing mouth breathing during sleep, mouth taping may help improve overall sleep architecture. It does this by encouraging nasal breathing, which promotes better regulation of oxygen and carbon dioxide levels. These levels impact different stages of sleep, and when well regulated, you get enough sleep in every stage.
Risks and Considerations
While mouth taping can potentially offer some benefits for sleep quality, it is important to be aware of the potential risks and considerations before attempting this practice. Some potential side effects that you need to be aware of include:
- Skin Irritation: The adhesive used in mouth taping can cause skin irritation, redness, or even rashes in some individuals. When buying, confirm that your skin is not sensitive to the material used.
- Anxiety: During the initial days of using sleep tapes, it’s normal to experience increased anxiety or feelings of claustrophobia. These occurs due to the thought of having your mouth taped shut throughout the night. It may disrupt sleep but once you get used, you’ll enjoy deep uninterrupted sleep.
- Disrupted Sleep: In some cases, mouth taping may actually worsen sleep quality by causing discomfort or difficulty breathing, leading to more frequent awakenings.
Due to these risks, it’s important that you consult with a healthcare professional before you start using sleep tapes. The specialist will assess your needs and recommend the most appropriate mouth taping for your needs.
Final Thoughts
Sleep tapes may lead to more restorative and uninterrupted sleep by promoting better sleep architecture. This has a positive impact on your overall health and well-being. However, it is important to be mindful of the potential risks and considerations associated with mouth taping. Therefore, it is crucial that you consult with a healthcare professional before attempting any new sleep interventions, including mouth taping.
