Sure, social media fads are a great source for cute cat videos, and picking up questionable life hacks, like taping your mouth shut while you sleep, hoping you'll achieve, I don't know… death-defying nostril superiority? As it turns out, forcing nighttime mouth incarceration is a trend that’s been circulating the sleep-deprived space lately. But strip away the veil of breathless testimonials, and you may find your answer isn’t as sealed as your lips.

The mouth taping proponents argue that it encourages nostril domination of the breathing process, and consequently, results in a decrease of snoring. This could sound appealing to anyone within a mile radius of a chronic snorer, but there’s a snag. What's the snag you ask? Well, there is no scientific backing for this practice, and healthcare providers are generally hesitant to give it the green light.

But let's dig deeper, over to the side that pour scorn on the benefits, the sleep experts go all mom-on-a-school-night on this issue and warn about the dangers of this practice. The most glaring one? Breathing trouble. Yeah, that minor activity we all do, you know, once or twice a minute?

According to them, the process could potentially escalate mild obstructive sleep apnea to severe. And for the uninitiated, blockages of airways, due to severe sleep apnea, can cause death. But hey, as long as we are sleeping silently, right?

But fear not, if you’re a social media enthusiast and are dead-set on following a trend, even if it ends up killing you, there are specific products designed for this very purpose. These tapes are more porous and designed to be less obstructive, which is like…comparatively better but still not recommended by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine.

Taking the cue from this, I’d say you are better off considering safe, and scientifically backed alternatives to fix your sleeping woes as opposed to following a trend conceived by half-asleep social media mongers. There’s a plethora of proven and effective ways out there-from maintaining optimal sleeping positions, good oral hygiene, nasal strips (again, not instead of proper medical care but as an additional aid), and practices dedicated to good sleep hygiene. Or hellfire, you can even talk about your insomnia to a cognitive behavioral therapist. Seriously, I’d recommend that over getting adhesive debris off your lips in the morning.

So, the next time you are pondering to tape your mouth shut for a sound sleep, remember, it’s just as dubious and risky as it sounds. Listen to the experts and stick to the sciences instead of the trends, because the only thing we should be sealing shut is bad advice.