How To Stop Sleeping With Your Mouth Open

Sleeping with your mouth closed might be both easier... and harder than you think.   The truth is, for someone who has been a mouth breather for any length of time, retraining yourself to breathe through your nose during sleep can be challenging as you’re changing an often long-standing habit.  For others, there are more complex factors at play than just changing a habit (which this article outlines).  However, it can be done, and it’s extremely rewarding, given the degree to which your quality of life depends on your sleep quality.  

In this article, we’ll share the quickest and most effective way to learn how to stop breathing via your mouth during sleep: Mouth taping. 

Step 1: Stop sleeping with your mouth open

For most mouth breathers, it is not because you can’t breathe through your nose - over time, you’ve just gotten used to breathing incorrectly during your sleep.  Mouth taping, using a hypoallergenic and breathable tape like (NZ made) Betta Sleep Mouth Tape, can help you retrain to sleep with your mouth closed by gently and safely facilitating a closed mouth posture.  We have optimised the elasticity of the tape so that while it helps to keep your mouth closed as you sleep, it’s only a guide, and if, for some reason, you need to breathe through your mouth during the night, the tape will allow this.  

By wearing Betta Sleep Tape and gently encouraging a closed mouth posture, your nose starts to work as it should, and many physiological processes in the body are upregulated.  This is a habit/behaviour change that most people will adjust to with consistent practice, so that in time, you’ll be able to comfortably breathe through your nose throughout the night, unassisted. 

Step 2: Adjust gradually to mouth tape

Most of our customers report reduced snoring and improved sleep within the first week of use.  However, for others, though it sounds simple, adapting to mouth taping and establishing consistent, comfortable nasal breathing can take some time, depending on a number of factors.  

For most users, the practice starts to feel natural within 3 nights, but it can take up to 30 nights for those who are particularly noisy, have an elevated drive to breathe and a high minute volume*, or where there are more complex factors at play influencing their tendency to breathe through their mouth overnight.   

These factors can include, just to name a few: certain health conditions, some medications, dietary habits and behaviours, stress and nervous system state, general health and fitness, airway health, structural/anatomical factors, a soft bed, sleeping on your back and daytime habits and behaviours that impact breathing overnight – such as mouth breathing during the day or while exercising or hyperventilation while speaking.

(*Minute volume is the amount of air you breathe per minute.  Normal at rest = 4 to 6 litres per minute.  For those with breathing-related conditions such as snoring and/or sleep apnoea, anxiety or asthma, this can be up to 15 litres of air per minute.)

Quick tips for using mouth tape to optimise nasal breathing: 

Here are 5 quick tips you can follow to help make nose breathing feel more comfortable as you retrain yourself to sleep with your mouth closed. 

1. Start slow and gradually increase use

• Try wearing the tape for 30 minutes before bed to get used to the sensation.

• Be mindful about how you’re breathing and breathe gently through your nose before settling down to sleep.  

• If discomfort arises, start by using a small strip of tape vertically in the centre of your lips (leaving small gaps at the corners) before moving to full coverage once you’re comfortable with this.

2. Clear nasal passages before bed

• Blow your nose gently, or use other nasal decongestants such as a neti pot morning and night to wash out any inflammatory mediators.

• Try nasal strips to help open your nasal airway overnight.

3. Sleep position matters

• Sleep with a slight elevation to reduce the work of breathing at night and help maintain nasal breathing.

• Avoid sleeping on your back as this position has the worst effect on breathing.

4. Stay hydrated and avoid alcohol in the evening

• Dehydration is a significant stress on the body and will be reflected in poor breathing.

• Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles, increasing the chance of airway collapse and mouth breathing.

• Alcohol also increases breathing, metabolism, and blood sugar at night when they all need to be reduced in order to be able to maintain a healthy minute volume of 4-6 litres per minute, maintain nasal breathing, and sleep well.

5. Practice daytime nasal breathing

• Practice nasal breathing during the day to improve your baseline breathing pattern.

• Try taping your mouth for periods during the day (e.g., reading or watching TV) to help raise your awareness and assist you in changing the habit.

• How you breathe at night follows how you breathe during the day.  Consider seeing a registered Breathing Educator to look at your baseline breathing pattern and uncover the causes of your difficulty maintaining nasal breathing.

It's important to keep trying but also to reach out for help if you’re having difficulty or have questions. Mouth taping is a form of therapy by which you're addressing a habit. It can take some time and patience, especially if the habit is long-standing, or if it’s more than just a bad habit and there are more complex factors at play as to why you’re mouth breathing at night.  It can take some help from an expert and some detective work to unravel and address the factors behind mouth breathing at night. 

Ready to stop mouth breathing? Conclusion: 

If mouth taping is taking too long, is not effective for you, or you'd like to understand the causes behind your breathing habits, it can be worth consulting a breathing professional.

We recommend Breathing Educator/Buteyko Practitioner Nicky McLeod from the Breathing Clinic.