Does Mouth Taping Work? 10 Studies Say Mostly No

Mouth taping is one of social media’s favourite sleep hacks. Put a strip of tape over your lips at night, and breathe through your nose.

Fans say it means better sleep, less snoring, fresher breath, even better skin. Searches for it run to tens of thousands a month in the US alone.

So does mouth taping work? Two systematic reviews have now gathered every study they could find.

The short version: the evidence is thin, the benefits are small, and for some people it may be risky.

Does mouth taping work?

For most people, there’s no good evidence that it does.

A 2025 systematic review in PLOS One set out to check the trend. Its authors, ear, nose and throat specialists in Canada, searched 25 years of research.

They found just 10 studies that met their criteria, each with between 9 and 71 people. Most involved people with sleep apnoea or mouth breathing.

Their conclusion was blunt. The existing data “does not support mouth taping or oral occlusion as a sound clinical intervention for the general population with sleep disordered breathing.”

A second review, published in OTO Open in August 2026, reached a similar view. It found only 2 studies on mouth taping itself, with 50 people between them.

Its authors said the lack of proper evidence discourages its use in current clinical practice.

Why people tape their mouths

The idea behind it

The theory starts with a real fact: breathing through your nose is usually better than breathing through your mouth.

The 2026 review explains that the nose warms, moistens and cleans the air you breathe. It also helps keep the upper airway stable during sleep.

Mouth breathing has been linked to sleep apnoea, where breathing repeatedly stops and starts at night. The 2025 review notes it can narrow the airway and make the problem worse.

The promises

Taping the mouth shut is meant to force nose breathing. Online, people claim it improves sleep quality, dry mouth, bad breath and concentration.

Some even claim anti-ageing effects. The 2025 review found no concrete evidence for these broader claims.

What the studies actually found

Small gains in mild sleep apnoea

Doctors measure sleep apnoea with the apnoea-hypopnoea index, or AHI. It counts how many times an hour breathing stops or becomes shallow.

Six of the 10 studies in the 2025 review measured AHI. Only two found a significant drop after taping or sealing the mouth.

Both studies only included people with mild sleep apnoea. Both also excluded anyone with a blocked nose or large tonsils.

Three other studies found no significant change in AHI at all.

Snoring and other measures

Three studies looked at snoring, and all three reported less of it after taping or a chin strap. Studies of oxygen dips and air leaks from CPAP masks also found some improvements.

But each of these measures came from two to four small studies. The review’s authors said their clinical significance is unclear.

The risks of mouth taping

When your nose is blocked

The biggest worry is what happens if your nose can’t do the job.

Four of the 10 studies in the 2025 review raised the same warning. Sealing the mouth could pose a serious risk of asphyxiation if the nose is blocked.

That matters because mouth breathing often happens for a reason. Allergies, a deviated septum, or large tonsils and adenoids are common causes.

Many studies excluded exactly these people. So the research says little about how taping affects them.

Blocking the nose makes apnoea worse

The 2026 review tested the other side of the question. It pooled 15 studies, with 304 participants, in which the nose was deliberately or clinically blocked during sleep.

Blocking the nose increased AHI by an average of 13.78 events an hour. That’s a clinically meaningful worsening.

The authors said a blocked nose may even cause apnoea-like problems in healthy people. Taping only makes sense if air can flow freely through your nose.

It can backfire for some

Another study discussed in the 2025 review found that closing the mouth didn’t help everyone. In people who breathed heavily through the mouth, forced closure actually reduced airflow.

Some people also “puff” air out of their cheeks with the mouth taped, which was linked to worse readings in two studies.

What earlier research found

The research behind nose breathing

The 2026 OTO Open meta-analysis is the clearest evidence on why the nose matters during sleep. Across its studies, a blocked nose consistently made sleep apnoea indicators worse.

Its authors said this supports nose breathing as a factor worth studying in sleep apnoea, but not taping as a treatment.

The first big check of the trend

The 2025 PLOS One review rated all 10 of its studies as poor quality. The authors couldn’t combine the results statistically because the studies were too different.

They concluded there “seems to be a potentially serious risk of harm for individuals indiscriminately practicing this trend.”

How it fits together

Nose breathing matters. But taping the mouth is a crude way to get there, and it has barely been tested in the people most likely to try it.

How much should you trust this?

Early. Two systematic reviews agree, which is reassuring. But the studies they found are few, small and weak.

What makes it convincing

• Two independent systematic reviews, in 2025 and 2026, reached similar conclusions.
• The finding that a blocked nose worsens sleep apnoea comes from a meta-analysis of 15 studies.
• The 2025 review was registered in advance.

What makes me cautious

• All 10 studies in the 2025 review were rated poor quality.
• Only one of the 10 was a randomised trial, and the biggest had 71 people.
• The positive results came only from people with mild sleep apnoea.
• Almost no research has tested taping in healthy people who just want better sleep.

What this means for you

• Don’t tape if your nose is blocked. Colds, allergies or a stuffy nose make it risky.
• Get loud snoring checked. Snoring with gasping or choking can be a sign of sleep apnoea. The NHS says sleep apnoea “needs to be treated because it can lead to more serious problems.”
• Don’t use tape instead of treatment. If you’ve been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, stick with the treatment your doctor recommends, such as CPAP.
• Ask why you breathe through your mouth. A doctor can check for a blocked nose, allergies or large tonsils.
• Simple habits help. The NHS suggests sleeping on your side, cutting back on alcohol and keeping regular sleep times.

The NHS guide to sleep apnoea explains the symptoms, tests and treatments clearly.

In this short SciShow video, you can see what the science says about mouth taping:

What we still don’t know

1. Does it help healthy people sleep better? Almost no studies have tested this.
2. Is it safe long term? No study has followed people for months or years.
3. Who benefits, exactly? People with mild sleep apnoea and clear noses look most likely, but it isn’t proven.
4. Do other claims hold up? Bad breath, skin and focus haven’t been properly studied.
5. How do porous tapes compare? Different products haven’t been compared head to head.

My take: a hack built on a half-truth

What I like about the mouth-taping trend is the idea underneath it. Nose breathing really does matter during sleep.

I’m less convinced by the tape. The research is thin, the benefits are small, and the people who might be harmed are exactly the ones who mouth-breathe for a reason.

If you snore, wake up tired, or someone notices you stop breathing at night, see a doctor. That’s a far better first step than a roll of tape.