balancing out the pH levels in your mouth, preventing dental decay, decreasing your chance of snoring, preventing your sinuses from drying out by lubricating your nostrils, and making the air you breathe more humid, helping with chronic lung diseases such as asthma.
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Why mouth tapping is dangerous
Although this is a pretty long list of benefits and explains why so many people have tried the trend, the science behind this trend is lacking.
“If you have obstructive sleep apnea, yes, this can be very dangerous,” sleep specialist Dr. Raj Dasgupta told CNN.
“There is limited evidence on the benefits of mouth taping and I would be very careful — and even talk to your health care provider before attempting it,” adds Dasgupta, an associate professor of clinical medicine at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.
Not everyone who has obstructive sleep apnea knows it. People with the sleep disorder stop breathing repeatedly during the night. More than 1 billion adults worldwide between the ages of 30 and 69 alone likely have the condition, according to a 2019 study. Millions are undiagnosed.
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Alternatives to mouth taping
Anyone interested in this trend should first be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnea, Dasgupta advises.
“Once obstructive sleep apnea is ruled out completely, then we can call it snoring,” he says. “Also, there are many other options to address snoring beside mouth taping, such as nasal strips, nasal dilators and mouth [and] throat and tongue exercises.”
You can help prevent mouth breathing in a safer way by not sleeping on your back, he adds.
Causes of mouth breathing include allergies, colds, a deviated septum in the nose and nasal polyps. In children, the cause may be enlarged adenoids or tonsils, according to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.
An ear, nose and throat specialist or sleep specialist can also help you work through solutions.
“These issues should be addressed and evaluated first before mouth taping. In my opinion, taping your mouth shut is not likely to help you sleep better,” Dasgupta concludes.