I Slept With My Mouth Shut for 30 Days—Here’s What Changed (And Why I’m Never Going Back)

I made a quiz, a sleep tracker, and even a head-to-head comparison of the best devices to keep your mouth closed at night. If you’re a fellow mouth breather or chronic snorer, this one’s for you.

👉 Take the quiz to see if you might be sleeping with your mouth open—and scroll down to see how I fixed mine.

If you're dealing with dry mouth, snoring, or just want to sleep better, I’ll tell you right now—Mouth Shield ended up being the only thing that actually made a lasting difference for me. I’ll explain why.

Are *You* Sleeping With Your Mouth Open? Take the 1-Min Quiz

Think you’re a nose breather? Don’t be so sure. I thought the same—until I wasn’t.

Take this 60-second quiz to find out if you’re unconsciously sabotaging your sleep (and how to fix it).

💥 Join the 30-Day Mouth Closed Challenge — #MouthClosedChallenge 💥

Can you keep your mouth closed for 30 nights in a row? Let’s find out.

This isn't a dare (well, kind of). It's a challenge—one that could change how you sleep, breathe, and feel in the morning. I did it, tracked my results, and now I’m daring you to try it too.

Here’s how it works:

✅ Pick a tool that helps keep your mouth gently closed (I used MouthShield)

✅ Print the free 30-Day Tracker and log each night—snoring, dryness, how rested you feel, etc.

✅ Stay consistent for 30 days, then compare how you felt on Day 1 vs. Day 30

🗓️ Download your tracker here!

📲 Tag your progress on social using #MouthClosedChallenge

👯♀️ Challenge a friend or partner to do it with you—you might even sleep better together!

This is your permission slip to finally fix the whole mouth breathing-at-night thing without overcomplicating it. Just one small change. 30 nights. World. Of. Difference.

Why I Was Sleeping With My Mouth Open (And Didn’t Even Realize)

I spent 30 days trying to train myself to sleep with my mouth shut. Why? Because I kept waking up with a desert-dry mouth, a sore throat, and my partner swearing I snored like a leaf blower.

Turns out, I was sleeping with my mouth open. Every. Single. Night!!!!!!!

So, I turned myself into a human guinea pig and tested a bunch of weird (and not-so-weird) ways to fix it—from mouth tape to chin straps to a soft silicone gadget called MouthShield. I tracked everything: what worked, what flopped, and what actually made me feel like a real nose breather for the first time in years.

So… the thing about mouth breathing is that you might not even know you’re doing it.

I definitely didn’t. During the day, I breathe through my nose just fine. But at night? Different story. Somewhere between falling asleep and dreaming about my inbox catching fire, my jaw would drop open—and stay open.

It wasn’t until I started waking up with a sore throat, dry mouth, and more fatigue than seemed normal that I figured something was up.

The Surprising Side Effects of Sleeping with Your Mouth Open

If this is something you’re dealing with, you already know it’s not just about being a little thirsty in the morning.

Mouth breathing at night can lead to:

• Dry mouth and lips

• Bad breath

• Poor sleep quality

• Snoring (and if you’ve got a partner, complaints about snoring)

• Even dental issues, like cavities and gum irritation

Let’s just say I had a few of these, and I was sick of it.

What Didn’t Work: Everything I Tried to Keep My Mouth Closed

First: mouth taping.

This one sounds kind of intense because… well, it is. I tried the medical-grade stuff, not duct tape (don’t worry). It technically kept my mouth shut, but it felt restrictive and uncomfortable, and honestly? I didn’t love the idea of taping my mouth closed every night like some kind of hostage in my own bedtime routine.

Then: chin straps.

If you’ve ever worn one, you know—it’s like putting on a head sling. Some people swear by them, but they didn’t work for me. I woke up with jaw tension and red marks, and my mouth still found a way to fall open sometimes.

I also tried just “training myself” to nose breathe—through meditation, nasal strips, humidifiers. All helpful in theory, but nothing stuck.

I was running out of ways to keep your mouth closed that weren’t weird, uncomfortable, or just plain ineffective.

Here’s everything I tried—and how it stacked up.

How I Found MouthShield (and Why It Changed Everything)

A few weeks in, I came across MouthShield while searching for devices to keep your mouth closed that didn’t involve adhesives or headgear. At this point, I wasn’t expecting much—I’d already tried most of what was out there. But the idea behind it was different.

Here’s how it works:

MouthShield is a soft, trimmable silicone guard that gently sits between your lips and teeth—not over your mouth or around your head. It doesn’t pull your jaw forward like a mouthguard or lock your lips shut with tape. Instead, it acts like a barrier that keeps your lips sealed just enough to encourage nasal breathing.

It’s simple. It’s not bulky. And most importantly for me, it didn’t feel like I was strapping a device to my face.

I trimmed mine to fit more comfortably and gave it a shot.

What Happened the First Night I Tried Mouth Shield

Night one was surprisingly… uneventful. And I mean that in the best way.

Mouth Shield felt weird for the first five minutes, but once I settled into bed, I basically forgot it was there. I didn’t wake up in the middle of the night ripping it out (which is what happened with the chin strap), and I didn’t feel claustrophobic like I did with mouth tape.

And the next morning? No dry mouth. No sore throat. It was the first time in weeks that I didn’t feel like my mouth had been left open in front of a fan all night.

That was enough to keep me going.

My 30-Day Progress: Small Changes That Made a Big Impact

By the end of the first week, I was waking up more refreshed. Not bouncing-off-the-walls energized, but noticeably better. I didn’t dread mornings the same way.

By week two, my partner pointed out something I didn’t even notice—I wasn’t snoring anymore. At least not the chainsaw-level stuff I used to do.

Week three was when I really started to feel like a nose breather. I wasn’t waking up gasping or with a dry mouth. It was just… sleep. The normal kind. The kind I hadn’t realized I was missing.

The Small Tweaks That Helped Me Breathe Through My Nose

Mouth Shield did most of the heavy lifting, but I made a few other small changes that made a difference:

• Nasal saline spray before bed kept my nose clear. If you’re going to commit to nasal breathing, you need your nose in working order.

• I elevated my head slightly with an extra pillow, which helped reduce post-nasal drip.

• I also ran a humidifier in my room to avoid drying out my airways.

Nothing exactly revolutionary, clearly—but when combined with Mouth Shield, these were low-effort habits that helped a lot.

Should You Talk to a Doctor About Mouth Breathing?

Probably—especially if you suspect you have sleep apnea or you’re waking up frequently at night, gasping, or feeling exhausted no matter how long you slept.

I don’t have sleep apnea (at least not diagnosed), but I know how tricky it can be to self-treat sleep issues without guidance. If you’re dealing with more serious symptoms or health conditions, get a professional’s input. Mouth breathing can be a symptom of a bigger issue.

That said, for me, this wasn’t about replacing medical treatment. It was about addressing a bad sleep habit that had real consequences—and finding a fix that finally worked.

My Final Thoughts After 30 Days of Using MouthShield

Here’s the honest rundown:

I didn’t expect much when I started this. I thought I’d try a few things, give up, and resign myself to desert-mouth mornings forever.

But MouthShield was different. It didn’t try to force my face into some uncomfortable position. It just encouraged what my body was already supposed to do—breathe through my nose. It’s low-tech, easy to use, and way more comfortable than anything else I tried.

If you’re wondering how to keep your mouth closed while sleeping and you’ve been down the chin strap/mouth tape road (or even if you haven’t), I can’t recommend MouthShield enough.

It changed my sleep, and honestly, it changed how I feel throughout the day. More energy, less brain fog, better mornings. That’s a win in my book.

👉 You can check out MouthShield here if you want to try it yourself. I’m glad I did.

Bibliography

• Dr. Elizabeth Rausch-Phung, “Is Sleeping With Your Mouth Open Bad?”, sleepfoundation.org, December 7, 2023, https://www.sleepfoundation.org/snoring/sleeping-with-mouth-open 

• “Mouth Breathing”, my.clevelandclinic.org, April 11, 2022, https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22734-mouth-breathing

• Alexandra Benisek, “What to Know About Mouth Breathing”, webmd.com, June 30, 2023, https://www.webmd.com/oral-health/mouth-breathing