Mouth Taping During Night Sleep (Buteyko Technique)

(Module 7 of Learning Buteyko Breathing Exercises - How to Maintain Nasal Breathing 24/7)

Man sleeps with mouth breathing In order to ensure nasal breathing and stop mouth breathing during the night, in the 1960s Russian patients invented mouth taping, which is now a part of the Buteyko breathing method.

First of all, it is necessary to find out if one has this problem by checking dryness in the mouth just after waking up in the morning. If the mouth is dry, mouth breathing is very likely.

This problem could appear when the person goes to sleep or it could appear at 3, or 4 am or later. In any case, just 20-30 min of mouth-breathing resets the breathing centre to lower CPs (body oxygen level), and such patients, as a rule, have less than 20 s for the morning body oxygen test.

Medical people smiling Moreover, if you have a malignant tumor and your daily CP is above 20 s, your tumor will grow only during the time of the night, when you breathe through your mouth. If you have sinusitis, the pathogenic bacteria in your sinuses will multiply and colonize new mucosal surfaces when you breathe through your mouth. Organic damage to the heart muscle, growth of inflamed areas in the GI tract, advance of pathogens on your skin (in cases of eczema, psoriasis, etc.), and many other problems will appear if your mouth falls open during your sleep. Solution? You need to tape your mouth.

How to tape one's mouth at night to stop mouth breathing

Surgical tape for mouth taping For mouth taping one needs a surgical tape and cream to prevent the tape sticking. Both can be bought in the pharmacy. Micropore (or 3M) and vaseline are popular choices. First, put a small amount of cream on the lips so that it is easy to remove the tape in the morning. Then take a small piece of tape and stick it in the middle, vertically, across the closed mouth. Some students prefer to put it along or horizontally, but a small piece in the middle is sufficient. If you are afraid to seal the mouth completely, tape only one half of the mouth leaving space for emergency breathing.

In 2006 one of my Buteyko method colleagues, Dr. James Oliver, a GP from the UK and former president of the Buteyko Breathing Association made a presentation to the British Thoracic Society about the safety of mouth taping based on thousands of cases both in Russia and in the west. Previously he conducted a survey among us, Buteyko method teachers and obtained the statistical data.

Mouth taping at night to stop mouth breathing should normally be a temporary measure. When one’s CP (body oxygen level) is above 20 s in the morning, mouth taping is no longer necessary.

Can mouth taping create distress?

A majority of students have no problems with mouth taping and they breathe only through the nose during the whole night. Their mouth is not dry in the morning and they report numerous benefits of mouth taping.

However, some students may find it difficult and uncomfortable so that they remove the tape during the night. These incidents have physiological causes, including:

1. Sleeping on the back. If you turn on your back during night sleep, your breathing gets almost twice as heavy, and it will be very difficult to pump more air through the nose. Hence, learn the module devoted to prevention of sleeping on one's back.

2. Overly warm sleep conditions. If your blanket is too warm, your breathing becomes deeper and bigger during sleep. You will wake up finding out that breathing through the nose is uncomfortable. To prevent overheating, use less warm clothes and blankets during sleep.

Man sleeps with mouth breathing 3. Carpets in your bedroom. Presence of carpets makes air quality tens or even hundreds of times worse. During night sleep several cubic meters of air with millions of airborne particles, including dust, dust mites, their droppings, bacteria, viruses, etc. will enter through the nasal passages making them dryer and penetrating into bronchi and the lungs causing stress for the immune system and deep breathing. Sleeping in carpet-free rooms or covering carpets with plastic will solve this problem.

4. Dusty or clean but old pillow cases, blankets, and bed sheets create the same effect, as well as books, newspapers, hanging clothes, and old dusty curtains. Make sure that your bedroom has good air quality.

5. Closed windows during the night greatly worsen air quality in the bedroom due to poor air circulation and absence of air ions that make air cleaner. Either keep windows open or, if it is too cold or too noisy outside, buy an air ionizer/purifier and keep it running through the night.

6. Skin rashes due to extreme skin sensitivity. Try to find a hypoallergic tape or surgical paper tape. If rashes still a problem, you can sew together two clean socks making a circle. Wear it at night around your head so that to keep your jaw closed.

Related web pages
- How to maintain nasal breathing 24/7 Manual (main page of Module 7)
- Why breathing should be strictly nasal (Webpage about biochemical effects of mouth breathing)
- The breathing exercise to unblock the nose (Article - Buteyko breathing exercise)
- Stop Coughing at Night (Article - Buteyko breathing exercise)
- Get Rid of Cough (Article - Buteyko breathing exercise)
- More research articles and abstracts about other benefits of nasal breathing (Web page about mouth breathing and morning fatigue; Sleep apnea and snoring; Mouth breathing in asthmatics; etc.)
- Devastating effects of mouth breathing on health of infants and children (with medical research articles and abstracts)
- Nasal nitric oxide research

References: CO2 Effects Web Pages
Vasodilation: CO2 expands arteries and arterioles facilitating perfusion (or blood supply) to all vital organs
The Bohr effect How and why oxygen is released by red blood cells in tissues
Cell Oxygen Levels and oxygen transport are controlled by alveolar CO2 and breathing
Oxygen Transport depends on breathing and these two effects (Vasoconstriction-Vasodilation and the Bohr effect) are parts of two diagrams that summarize influences of hypocapnia (low CO2 content in the blood and cells) on circulation and O2 delivery
Free Radical Generation takes place due to anaerobic cell respiration caused by cell hypoxia. Hence, antioxidant defenses of the human body are also regulated by CO2 and breathing
Inflammatory Response is controlled by breathing since hypoxia leads to or intensifies chronic inflammation through over-expression of the hypoxia-inducible factor 1, while normal breathing reduces these processes
Nerve stabilization takes place due to calmative or sedative effects of carbon dioxide in neurons or nerve cells
Muscle relaxation or relaxation of muscle cells is normal at high CO2, while hypocapnia causes muscular tension, poor posture and, sometimes, aggression and violence
Brochodilation - dilation of airways (bronchi and bronchioles) by carbon dioxide, and their constriction due to hypocapnia
CO2: Best Natural Cough Suppressant and "home remedy" since it calms urge-to-cough nerve receptors located in the tracheobronchial tree and larynx
Blood pH regulation and regulation of other bodily fluids
CO2: Lung Damage Healer: Elevated carbon dioxide prevents injury and promotes healing of lung tissues
CO2: Skin and Tissue Healer
Synthesis of Glutamine in the Brain, CO2 fixation, and other chemical reactions
CO2 myth "CO2 is a toxic waste gas" myth
Breathing control How is our breathing regulated? Why hypocapnia makes breathing uneven and erratic?

Reference Web Pages: Breathing norms, Medical Graphs and Tables about Breathing Rates (Minute Ventilation) and Body Oxygen in Healthy, Normal and Sick People
Breathing norms Parameters, graph, and description of the normal breathing pattern
6 breathing myths 6 myths about breathing and body oxygenation (prevalence: over 90%)
Hyperventilation Definitions of hyperventilation: their advantages and weak points
Hyperventilation Syndrome in the Sick. Table 1. Western scientific evidence about prevalence of CHV (chronic hyperventilation) in patients with various chronic conditions (34 medical studies)
Normal Minute Ventilation in Healthy Subjects: Easy and Light Breathing (14 Studies)
Hyperventilation Prevalence Present in Over 90% of Normal People (24 medical publications)
HV and hypoxia How and why deep breathing reduces oxygenation of cells and tissues of all vital organs
Body oxygen test How to measure your own breathing and body oxygenation (a simple DIY test)
Body oxygen in healthy Table 4. CP (body oxygen level) in healthy people (27 medical studies)
Body oxygen in sick Table 5. CP (body oxygen level) in sick people (14 medical studies)
Buteyko Table of Health Zones with clinical description of most common zones
Morning HV Morning hyperventilation effect or how and why critically ill people are most likely to die during early morning hours

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