breathwork
mouth taping
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If you wake up from a night’s sleep with a dry mouth, you’ve most likely been mouth breathing. Taping your mouth to prevent mouth-breathing probably sounds torturous and a bit odd, but it really helps you break this habit and transition to nose breathing. When you first try it at night, if it’s too uncomfortable, take the tape off, and retape the next night until you get used to it. I use hypoallergenic paper tape. It comes in different widths, from half an inch to an inch. For men with beards, I suggest using the half-inch width so the tape covers only your lips.

preview for Mouth Taping with Robert Litman

Step 1

Remove a strip of tape from the roll. Use a size that will serve the way you are planning on taping. (See step 4.)

Step 2

Immediately bend about a quarter of an inch at the end of the tape over itself, so there is a tab you can grab to remove the tape in the morning or during the night for any reason.

Step 3

After you have washed your hands, place the tape on the back of your hand and then pull it off one or two times. This removes some of the adhesive. The tape increases its stickiness while you are wearing it due to the moisture of the mouth.

Step 4

Place the tape in the position you want to use. There are four ways you can apply the tape:

  • Place a small strip vertically from under your nose to just below your bottom lip.
  • Place a slightly larger strip diagonally from one corner of your mouth to the other.
  • Place two strips diagonally across your mouth (an X) from one corner to the other. For the first three, there is still an opening for you to mouth-breathe if necessary.
  • Place one long strip from one corner of your mouth to the other so that it covers the lips completely and there is no way to open your mouth at all. This is the way I tape my lips. For this option especially, don’t forget to create a tab by sticking one end of the tape onto itself.

Step 5

When taking the tape off in the morning, do it slowly and be extremely gentle and careful. There is the danger of tearing the skin on your lips if you remove the tape too quickly. Two other ways to remove the tape besides the tab are to (1) use your tongue to push the tape away from your lips slowly, or (2) wash your face and allow the water to soften the tape and make it easier to remove.


Excerpted from The Breathable Body, by Robert Litman. Published by Hay House, Inc. Copyright © 2023.

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Robert Litman hosts our “The Life You Want” Class on the art and science of breathwork. You will come away with a tool kit of simple breathing techniques to help with stress, anxiety, sleep, asthma, and more. Become an Oprah Daily Insider now to get access to this conversation and the full “The Life You Want” Class library.