Mouth tape for back sleepers: why your jaw drops and what helps

Back sleepers are the people most likely to snore through an open mouth, because lying face up lets the lower jaw drop and the tongue slide back toward the throat. Mouth tape keeps the lips together so you keep breathing through your nose, which handles the open-mouth part of the problem. It works best alongside a few position changes, since tape doesn't move the tongue, and this guide covers both.

Why does back sleeping make snoring worse?

Back sleeping makes snoring worse because gravity pulls the soft parts of your airway backward once your muscles relax. Cleveland Clinic says sleeping on your back is more associated with snoring than sleeping on your side or stomach, because the tongue can relax toward the back of the throat and partly block the airway. Its own snoring overview puts it simply: back sleepers are more likely to snore than side sleepers.

A sleep lab study shows how big the effect can be. Researchers in Japan looked at overnight sleep studies from 72 people who complained of habitual snoring. Most of those without sleep apnea snored less on their side than on their back, both in how much of the night they snored and how intense it was. People with sleep apnea were a different story, and we come back to them below.

The NHS lists sleeping on your back as one of four things that make snoring more likely, alongside being overweight, smoking and drinking too much alcohol.

Does your jaw really drop open on your back?

Your jaw does tend to drop open when you lie on your back and relax, and that narrows the airway behind it. Sleep Foundation notes that during sleep, muscle relaxation can cause the mouth to fall open, especially if someone is lying on their back.

A 2003 study in The Laryngoscope measured this in 40 men who snored habitually and were waiting for nose surgery. Researchers took X-ray measurements of the head and throat both sitting upright and lying on the back. The more a man's jaw opened as he relaxed lying down, the more his throat airway narrowed, both behind the soft palate and at the base of the tongue. In the men who weren't obese, the change in jaw position on lying down and their nasal resistance were independent predictors of how many breathing events they had during sleep.

That's the chain back sleepers deal with. Lie down, relax, the jaw drops and moves back, the tongue follows, the airway narrows, and snoring gets louder. Our page on why your mouth falls open when you sleep covers the other reasons it happens.

Does lying down make your nose work harder too?

Lying down does make your nose work harder, which matters because a stuffy nose pushes you toward mouth breathing. A 2022 meta-analysis in The Laryngoscope pooled nine studies with 291 people and found that moving from upright to lying down raised nasal resistance and reduced nasal airflow. The effect was larger in people with snoring or sleep apnea than in healthy people, and the authors called the finding especially important for snorers.

So a back sleeper can get squeezed from both ends. The nose gets a little tighter when you lie down, and the jaw drops open at the same time. That's one reason it's worth checking your nose before you add tape, and why some back sleepers find a nasal strip makes the switch to nose breathing easier.

Does mouth tape help back sleepers?

Mouth tape looks most helpful for back sleepers whose snoring comes from an open mouth, though the evidence is small. The clearest data come from a 2022 study in Healthcare of 20 mouth breathers with mild sleep apnea. Each had a baseline home sleep test, then a second home sleep test a week later on a night with their mouths taped.

Back sleeping turned out to matter a lot in that group. Fifteen of the 20, or 75%, had positional sleep apnea, meaning their breathing was worse on their back. With their mouths taped, the median number of breathing events on their back fell from 9.4 to 5.5 an hour. Overall, 13 of the 20 cut their snoring index by at least half, and the median snoring index dropped by 47%.

The authors also looked at who responded. Among the 15 people whose apnea was worse on their back, 11 counted as responders, compared with 2 of the 5 whose apnea wasn't positional. That difference wasn't statistically significant, and the authors put that down to the small sample. It's a hint, not proof, that back sleepers with open mouths may be the people tape suits best.

The study had no control group, ran for a short period and included few women. It also left out people with a BMI of 30 or more and anyone whose tape came off by morning. Keep those limits in mind, and remember that mouth tape isn't a treatment for sleep apnea.

How should back sleepers combine tape with position changes?

Back sleepers get the most from tape when they also cut down the time spent flat on their back. The two work on different parts of the airway. Position changes keep the tongue and jaw from settling backward, and tape keeps the lips together whenever you do end up on your back.

The evidence for position training is real but modest. A 2019 German guideline on snoring in adults says there aren't enough clinical studies to make an evidence-based statement on avoiding the back position. It still recommends offering it to people whose snoring is tied to lying on their back. The NHS suggests taping or stitching a tennis ball to the back of your sleepwear, or buying a special pillow or bed wedge to keep you on your side.

The table below shows how each piece fits.

Our guides to positional devices for snoring and sleep position and snoring compare the options for staying off your back. If you already sleep on your side most of the night, mouth tape and side sleeping covers fit tips for that position. If you still drift onto your back at night, a strip of Titan Bamboo Silk Mouth Tape keeps your lips together while you're there.

What if you can only sleep on your back?

If back sleeping is the only way you can sleep, mouth tape and a clear nose can still take care of the open-mouth part. Plenty of people have back, hip or shoulder problems that make side sleeping uncomfortable, and forcing a position you hate tends not to last.

In that case, focus on what you can change. Check your nose before bed with our nose test, since lying down makes it a little tighter. Practice with the tape during the day, then wear it at night.

For back sleepers who want to try tape, our pick is Titan Bamboo Silk Mouth Tape, worn horizontally across the lips.

How do you wear mouth tape on your back?

Wearing mouth tape on your back is mostly about a good seal and an easy exit. Back sleepers have one advantage here: nothing presses on the tape, so it's less likely to be pushed off by a pillow.

1. Check your nose first. Sleep Foundation suggests testing tape during the day to make sure you can breathe easily through your nose, and skipping it if your nose is blocked by allergies, a cold or a structural issue.
2. Start with clean, dry lips and skin. Titan's own instructions start with clean, dry skin.
3. Close your lips gently, without clenching, and press the tape on from the middle outward.
4. Fold over one corner, as Sleep Foundation suggests, so you can peel it off easily in the morning.
5. Give it several nights before judging. Ask a partner whether the snoring changes when you're on your back, or record a few nights and compare.

Titan suggests 20 to 30 minutes of daytime practice before the first night, which is a sensible way to start with any tape. Our first-week guide walks through the steps, and mouth tape and nasal strips together explains how to add a strip if your nose feels tight lying down.

Cleveland Clinic says never to use mouth tape if you have nasal obstruction, nasal congestion, chronic allergies, a sinus infection, enlarged tonsils, a deviated septum or heart issues. We don't recommend mouth tape for children.

When should back sleepers see a doctor?

Back sleepers should see a doctor if their snoring comes with gasping, choking, pauses in breathing or heavy daytime sleepiness. The NHS advises seeing a GP if you feel sleepy during the day, your breathing stops and starts while you sleep, or you make gasping or choking noises, because you may have sleep apnoea.

Back sleeping is where sleep apnea often shows up most. The 2003 Japanese study found that people with sleep apnea often failed to snore less on their side, and those with worse breathing on their back tended to snore more on their side. So if rolling over doesn't quiet you down, that's a reason to get checked rather than add more gadgets. Our page on positional sleep apnea explains what to look for.

Also talk to a doctor if your nose is blocked most nights, and ask your clinician before trying mouth tape if you're pregnant.

Our pick (paid partner): Titan Bamboo Silk Mouth Tape

Our pick for back sleepers is Titan Bamboo Silk Mouth Tape. We haven't tested or ranked tapes ourselves; this is our recommendation, and it's a tool for the open-mouth part of snoring, not a proven fix.

Titan says the strip is bamboo silk rather than kinesiology tape, which it describes as soft, breathable and moisture-wicking. It comes in one oval size, 76 by 38 mm, worn horizontally across the lips. Titan says its SilkSeal adhesive is made to grip through stubble and full beards without tugging hair or leaving residue, and that every batch is third-party tested and certified PFAS-free. Its 30-night guarantee refunds you if your sleep isn't better after 30 nights, which gives you time to try it alongside a position change.

Read next

• Side sleeping and mouth tape: using them together for snoring
• How to stop sleeping on your back: positional devices for snoring compared
• Does mouth tape help snoring?

* This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or health condition. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider about your health.