Mouth taping to prevent snoring is a potentially risky practice

The Star

2 days ago

The social media trend of mouth taping while sleeping can be dangerous, especially to those who have a blocked nose. — dpa
Mouth taping – the sleeping trend seen across social media and said to reduce snoring, dry mouth and bad breath – can lead to serious health risks, scientists are warning in an analysis of recent research studies.
For months, influencers, celebrities and countless social media accounts have been talking up the process of taping over your mouth at bedtime to promote restful sleep and reduce sleep- related breathing disorders.
But researchers who evaluated 10 studies on this trend with a total of 213 participants say that it brings clear risks and has little evidence to back it.
'Taping the mouth is a current practice that is often promoted by celebrities but is not necessarily supported by scientific evidence,' says the Canadian research team.
Proponents claim mouth taping can help combat daytime tiredness and concentration problems, and even prevent facial wrinkles.
Fans – among them American actress Gwyneth Paltrow and Norwegian footballer Erling Haaland – place a plaster, adhesive tape or special tape over their mouth at night to keep it closed to make sure they breathe through their nose instead.
'Many people are not suited to mouth taping, and in some cases, it can lead to serious health risks,' say the researchers led by ear, nose and throat specialist Dr Brian Rotenberg from the London Health Sciences Centre in Ontario.
The practice aims to help combat obstructive sleep apnoea, which causes your throat muscles to relax while you are asleep, especially if you lie on your back, causing the base of your tongue to fall back and narrow your airways.
That obstruction can not only lead to snoring, but also nocturnal breathing interruptions – often dozens per hour.
It reduces the oxygen supply to the blood and also wakes people up, impairing their sleep and making them more tired during the day.
ALSO READ: Sleep apnoea: A common, yet frequently underdiagnosed, sleep disorder
Mouth taping can help some people with mild obstructive sleep apnoea, say two of the 10 studies the team assessed.
But four of the studies showed risks, especially if your nose is blocked, which could be the case if you suffer from chronic rhinitis, hay fever, sinusitis or problems with the nasal septum.
ALSO READ: Many of us have a deviated septum in our nose
People are at a risk of a serious oxygen deficiency if their nasal breathing is impaired and their mouth is also taped shut, say the team.
In a further danger, in the event of acid reflux, the contents of your stomach cannot leave your throat and so block your airways, says the team in the study published in science journal PLOS One .
'Overall, the social media phenomenon of mouth taping as a means of preventing mouth breathing appears to be based on weak evidence,' the team says.
If you breathe through your mouth because you cannot breathe well through your nose, you are most at risk of adverse effects.
Better studies are needed to fully assess the safety of mouth taping and its effectiveness though, the team says, as the few they looked at were very small and varied, and the overall data was of poor quality.
But based on the current data, mouth taping cannot be recommended for people with sleep- related breathing disorders, the scientists say. – By Walter Willems/dpa