Is Mouth Taping Worth the Hype?

While breathing comes naturally to most of us, we may not always be doing it right. Breathing through your nose is better for our overall health but many of us - especially children - tend to breathe through our mouths. 

The benefits of nasal breathing are well documented, so how can we best improve a mouth breathing habit? 

While there’s lots of mouth breathing device options available, let’s dig into the latest viral mouth taping trend that may or may not provide a long term solution to mouth breathing. 

And if you’re wondering how mouth taping compares to Myospots we’ll get into that too, but spoiler alert: as a long term solution, Myospots work best. 

 

Why is breathing through your nose better? 

Breathing through your nose (rather than mouth breathing) is absolutely essential for optimal health.

There are plenty of benefits to breathing through your nose:

• The air is cleaner: Your hard working nose hair humidifies, purifies and warms the air you breathe before it is absorbed by your lungs. 
• Your breathing is regulated: By breathing through your nose, your breath is longer and slower. The benefit of this is twofold; firstly, it helps to regulate your nervous system and secondly, it relaxes you into a deeper state of rest (getting good rest is essential for overall health).
• You produce nitric oxide: Breathing through your nose releases nitric oxide which supports both your immune and cardiovascular systems; it helps lower your blood pressure and improves how your lungs absorb oxygen. 

Conversely, mouth breathing can lead to a myriad of issues. 

In children mouth breathing can lead to:

• crooked teeth
• facial deformities
• problems sleeping
• slow or reduced growth. 

In adults, mouth breathing can cause: 

• bad breath
• gum disease
• sleep apnea
• dry mouth.

For all of us, mouth breathing may lead to or worsen asthma and cause snoring.

 

What causes mouth breathing?

You may find yourself breathing through your mouth because of an underlying anatomical concern like a deviated septum or a blocked nose. Your doctor will diagnose an issue like this, and advise if you need surgery or other treatment. 

The reality is, mouth breathing is often simply a habit caused by poor tongue posture - where the tongue sits low in the mouth, instead of nice and high. When the tongue sits high in the mouth, your lips are automatically closed and you breathe through your nose.

Here’s where Myospots can help. With this simple tongue exercise device, the tongue learns to remain elevated, helping you breathe through your nose both while you are sleeping, and throughout the day. 

 

Myospots, mouth tape and other mouth breathing devices: how do I know what will work best? 

Mouth taping is having a moment. But like all trends (especially ones that go viral on TikTok) it’s important to dig deeper to find out whether mouth taping really works.  

Mouth taping is exactly what it sounds like; you place a small piece of skin-safe tape over your mouth before bed and as a result, you are forced to breathe through your nose while you sleep. Mouth taping may help induce nasal breathing at night, however, during the day the individual will likely resume their mouth breathing habit.

While mouth taping certainly gives you no option but to breathe through your nose and is an alternative to more complicated mouth breathing devices it is - quite literally! - a band aid solution. 

You may get the benefits of nose breathing in the short term, but mouth taping does not address the ongoing issues that cause mouth breathing which is poor tongue posture. 

One of the simplest, yet most effective, ways to improve mouth breathing is by training your tongue to sit on the roof of your mouth. Your tongue is a muscle and just like the rest of the muscles in your body, it needs exercise for optimal performance. 

Myospots provide a long term solution to improve mouth breathing. The dissolvable Myospots pad is placed on the roof of your mouth where it stimulates your tongue to elevate and touch it. 

With training and time, your tongue will strengthen and naturally sit on the roof of your mouth. With your tongue in this position, your lips close and you breathe through your nose. You get all the benefits of nasal breathing, not just while you sleep but all day long! 

Learn more about how Myospots work and start training your tongue today!

 

All information is general in nature and is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice. Your healthcare provider can consult with you to confirm if this advice is right for you.