Mouth Taping for Sleep: What the Research Found Before You Buy the Strips

Mouth tape comes in small strips meant to hold your lips closed overnight so you breathe through your nose. Packs are sold to stop snoring, ease dry mouth and give you deeper sleep. Before you buy a month’s supply, here is what the research behind those promises looks like, and the warning that comes with it.

What the review found

In 2025, researchers reviewed every study they could find on mouth taping and similar ways of keeping the mouth closed during sleep. They found 10 studies with 213 people in total, and rated every one of them as poor quality.¹

Only two studies showed a statistically significant drop in breathing pauses during sleep. Both involved people with mild sleep apnea only.¹ The reviewers concluded that the existing data doesn’t support mouth taping as a sound treatment for the general population with sleep-disordered breathing.¹

The safety warning

Four of the studies excluded anyone with a blocked nose.¹ That matters, because tape takes away your backup airway. Four of the ten studies warned that keeping the mouth closed could pose a serious risk of asphyxiation, meaning not getting enough air, when the nose is blocked.¹

If you breathe through your mouth at night because your nose is congested or blocked, tape doesn’t fix the cause.

Snoring can be a warning sign

Snoring that comes with choking, gasping or silent pauses in breathing is a strong sign of sleep apnea, according to the American Academy of Sleep Medicine (AASM)². Other warning signs include daytime sleepiness and high blood pressure. The AASM says 30 to 40 percent of adults with high blood pressure also have sleep apnea.²

If you’ve been told you snore, the AASM advises talking to a medical provider about screening or testing for sleep apnea.² Taping over the snoring can hide the clue that would get you tested.

Skip the tape and get checked first if:

• You snore loudly, or someone has seen you stop breathing or gasp in your sleep²
• You wake up tired after a full night in bed, or doze off during the day²
• You have high blood pressure²
• Your nose is often blocked, or you can’t breathe comfortably through it with your mouth closed while awake

If your doctor says it’s reasonable

Ask how to test that your nose stays clear, what kind of tape to use, and what to do if you wake up short of breath. Stop if the tape irritates your lips or skin.

Try: “I snore and wake up with a dry mouth. Before I try mouth tape, should I be checked for sleep apnea or a nasal problem?”

Did I Do That in My Sleep? includes a 14-Night Lights-Out Record and a Visit Brief. Use them to note snoring reports, night wakings and daytime tiredness, and bring them to your appointment. See the book.