Until recently, I had been a chronic mouth breather all my life. Both on the inhale and exhale. This caused increased risk of many health problems. I was overusing my jaw muscles to constantly hold my mouth open. My overused jaw muscles were causing muscle tension in my head, face, and neck muscles. This was the catalyst for a lot of bad headaches.
Another problem was shallow breathing through my mouth. My breath wasn’t in my lungs long enough to be highly effective. I needed to slow my breathing down, so that air spent more time in my lungs.
I’ve gotten multiple benefits of mouth taping since I started taping my mouth shut in early 2023. My favorite benefits are how much it reduced muscle tension and improved my sleep. These were accomplished because mouth tape helped me keep my jaw in a closed, neutral position all night (compared to sleeping with my mouth open). Continue reading this article to learn more reasons why I use mouth tape for sleep benefits.
I first time I heard about mouth taping was in a book titled “Breath” by James Nestor. This book taught me a lot. It completely changed the way I think about breathing. Most importantly, I learned the difference between mouth breathing vs. nasal breathing. This is not only important during sleep, but also during exercise, as well as the rest of my day. I don’t always breathe through my nose now. I do breathe through my mouth sometimes, but it’s not my default anymore. My nose is the primary entrance, and exit, for air going in and out of my body.
Benefits of Using Mouth Tape for Sleep
Promotes Nasal Breathing
There are many bad posture habits that stem from mouth breathing vs. nasal breathing. Nasal breathing allows me to relax my jaw muscles. Overusing my jaw muscles to hold my mouth open all day and night used to cause neck pain and headaches for me. I’m a huge fan of anything that reduces headaches, which is one of my most valuable mouth taping advantages. Mouth taping, especially while sleeping, plays a large part in this by promoting nasal breathing.
Promotes Good Oral Posture
I first learned the term oral posture from a book titled “Jaws: The Story of a Hidden Epidemic.” Proper oral posture cannot happen if I’m breathing through my mouth. It can only happen when I’m breathing through my nose. Keeping my mouth closed allows for more relaxed jaw muscles. It reduces muscle tension, allowing my jaw to rest in a closed, neutral position. This created a stronger, more functional jaw for me.
Before reading this book, I’d never thought about the importance of good posture of my jaw. It helped me realize that being a chronic mouth breather was causing multiple problems in my life. My overused jaw muscles, from holding my mouth open all day and night to breathe, was causing neck pain and chronic headaches at least once a week.
Quick disclaimer: My content is not professional medical advice. It’s for informational purposes only. I write about my experience of trying different ways to improve computer posture. Improved sleep quality is one of the best benefits of mouth taping I’ve received. And when I sleep better, that allows me to have better posture at my computer desk the next day. If I get poor sleep, I’ll be tired as soon as I get to work. This causes me to have poor posture at my computer desk for most of the day.
Improved Sleep Quality
I highly recommend mouth tape for sleep benefits. Sleeping better is a great way to improve your posture at your computer desk. Every topic in health and wellness is related to how good, or bad, our computer posture is. Especially sleep quality and nasal breathing. The only way I can breathe through my nose while sleeping is to wear mouth tape.
Improved Oral Health
My cousin is a dental hygienist. In addition to poor posture of the jaw, she taught me that bacteria accumulates in the mouth while sleeping with my mouth open. This is what used to cause me bad breath in the morning. Now, I sleep with my mouth taped closed every night. My breath never smells bad when I wake up. Because my mouth was closed all night. There was no air in my mouth for bacteria to thrive on. Another benefit of mouth taping at night is that I don’t wake up with a super dry mouth. I’m a fan of any good posture habit that helps me avoid waking up in the middle of the night.
Best Mouth Tape for Sleeping
When I first started using mouth tape for sleep, I tried basic athletic tape. This didn’t work well at all. It didn’t stick to my skin. It would fall off after only a few minutes. I don’t think athletic tape is really made to stick onto the skin. It’s better used for holding a bandage in place on the skin. I quickly realized the first night that athletic tape wasn’t going to work.
I’ll be honest. I’ve only tried one other mouth tape for sleep. But it worked great and I haven’t felt the need to try any other brands since then.
Hostage Tape
The brand I use is called Hostage Tape. At first, it seemed expensive ($25 for a 30 day supply). I was hesitant. But I’d heard many people raving about it online. So I tried it. Also, there is a subscription option that lowers the price if you wish to subscribe. Or, you can purchase multiple months in advance. This is the route I like to take. It doesn’t lower the price as much as the subscription model. But, it’s no monthly commitment either.
Full disclosure: I pay my own money for my Hostage Tape. But I do make a very small commission if you purchase directly from them via this link. I only write honest reviews about products that’ve helped improve my quality of life. In my case, mouth tape for sleep benefits has also led to broader health benefits like good posture at a computer.
Hostage Tape is comfortable to wear, while still maintaining a good grip. At the same time, the adhesive they use is very minimal. It’s not painful to remove. It also doesn’t leave any residue on my skin.
Click here to visit HostageTape.com.
Thanks for your interest in computer posture.
If this article was helpful, check out my book titled “45 Ways to Improve Computer Posture.” It’s available in both digital and paperback versions.
>>> Click here to pick up your copy
This book explains how to improve your posture through different variables of health and wellness. These variables include sitting posture, standing posture, sleep, hydration, and breathing. Poor posture is not just how we sit at a computer. The health habits we practice, 24 hours a day, are directly related to how good (or bad) our computer posture is.
Go to SittingPosture.com/book to learn more.
Take care,
Todd Bowen
P.S. You can sign up for my free computer posture newsletter here.