One of the latesthealth trendson TikTok and other societal media is mouth tape , which is exactly what it sounds like . By keeping your mouth shut at dark , proponents lay claim , you may snore less , sleep better , and even have a fresher breath . But what does the science behind mouth taping actually say ?
eternal rest apneahappens when our power to suspire is prune off during sleep . This causes the psyche to wake us up just enough to start breathing again only for the cycle to restart once we shine back asleep . The severity of rest apnea is determined by the phone number of episodes of stopped or trim down breathing that occur each night . saw wood is a common symptom of sleep apnea , since it ’s a sign of having minute airways , but not every snorer has the condition .
There are two master types of nap apnea : obstructive and key . Obstructive sleep apnea ( OSA ) happen when airline muscle physically block a person ’s breathing , while central apnea is when the Einstein forgets to signal the body to breathe ( a third sundry form has features of both ) . lip taping is specify to aid with the former type of sleep apnea .
A social media trend promotes mouth taping as a remedy for sleep apnea, but does it truly help or cause more harm?Photo:Soumyadeep Paul
It ’s known that people with OSA tend to breath through their mouth regularly , often as a means to compensate for narrow or barricade upper airways through the nose . unluckily , mouth respiration canworsenOSA by further specify the respiratory tract ( the tongue can descend back and stop the respiratory tract ) . It can thin our atomic number 8 inhalation , contributing to poorer sleep anddrying outour back talk , realise it light for the bacteria that cause bad intimation and gum disease to jell up shop . And mouth ventilation can even hamper the effectiveness of continuous positive airway pressure ( CPAP ) machines , an effective handling for OSA .
The system of logic behind mouth tape is that it forces the person to only respire through their olfactory organ , in possibility helping stop all the above . There are products soldspecifically for mouthpiece tape recording , which often lay claim to be less irritating to wear and take off , though many citizenry will just use the tape around their sign of the zodiac .
There has been some research suggest that mouth tape can work as advertised . A 2015 studyfoundthat people using “ porous oral patch ” tended to experience reduced snoring and less episode of sleep apnea , for instance , while a 2022 studyfound65 % of balmy OSA sufferers run across a noticeable improvement in their symptom after mouth tape recording .
The major problem is that there are so few study even front at the topic , and those that do exist are very small in size of it . That same 2022 study involved just 20 volunteers , for case . This means that it ’s impossible to draw any strong conclusions about the rigor of mouth taping from the circumscribed information available the right way now .
It ’s also possible that mouth taping could be more hassle than help for some people . The 2015 study found that a third of participants actually receive bad apnea symptom while backtalk - taping , for example . Other enquiry hasfoundthat some people will still seek to exhale through their mouth while taped ( a phenomenon strike mouth puffing ) , which may be correlate with more severe OSA . And sleep and health expert have monish that the drill could be wild for people with condition that significantly affect their ability to take a breath through the olfactory organ , including OSA .
“ If you have obstructive sleep apnea , yes , this can be very severe , ” Raj Dasgupta , an associate prof of clinical medical specialty at the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California , toldCNN in 2022 .
Sleep apnea is a potentially serious health job — one that ruins people ’s bedtime and raises the risk of other wellness issues , such asheart disease . However , the issue is that many people do n’t seek medical help , with up to 85 % of rest apnea type goingundiagnosed . So while mouth taping might seem like a decent estimation if you ’re struggling with your sleep or snoring , it ’s plausibly more worthwhile to see a Dr. first so they can steer you toward other discourse with a proven trail phonograph record .
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