Doctor shares truth behind whether viral 'mouth taping' trend is actually benefitting you
If you're concerned over the quality of sleep you're getting, then you might be aware of a viral trend known as 'mouth taping'.
This one does pretty much exactly what it says on the tin, people tape their mouth shut when they go to sleep so they can breath through their nose instead as they believe this will give them better health benefits.
The trend has also gained some traction among athletes, with Manchester City footballer Erling Haaland taping his mouth shut when he wants to get some shut eye.
One suspects that his gifts as a footballer aren't all down to mouth taping, but he reckons that it helps him sleep and that breathing through is nostrils is the way to go.
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Appearing on the Impaulsive podcast, Haaland said he taped his mouth to encourage his body to breath through the nostrils while sleeping, saying: "I think sleep is the most important thing in the world. To sleep good, simple kind of things like blue-blocking glasses, shutting out all the signals in the bedroom, I think is really important.
"I sleep with it. Doing a lot of things is not good but doing small things every single day for a longer period really pays off."
However, it's also gained some criticism from others who have warned that taping your mouth shut to sleep can be 'dangerous'.
Some experts have called mouth taping 'an extreme way of encouraging nose breathing that has some serious health risks', as they reckon the benefits of breathing through your nose while you sleep are outweighed by blocking your mouth so you can't breathe through it.
Dr Zac Turner was answering reader questions for news.com.au when he received a query about the mouth taping trend, and said that taping your mouth shut as a health hack sounds 'a little unhinged'.
The doctor explained that breathing through your nose was 'like upgrading to first class on a flight' and 'just better' for getting air into your lungs.
He added that to the benefit of mouth taping, 'encouraging nasal breathing is a worthy goal' and you might even get a better night's sleep from breathing through your nose while in dreamland.
Despite this, he warned that there were big problems with taping shut one of your breathing holes.
The doctor said: "If your nose is congested (hello, allergies) or you have structural issues like a deviated septum, mouth taping could lead to serious problems.
"Imagine waking up in the middle of the night unable to breathe. Not exactly the beauty sleep you were hoping for."
Explaining the drawbacks further, Dr Turner warned that there was the potential for 'skin irritation' if you used the wrong kind of tape.
He said that while the trend 'isn’t inherently dangerous', there was 'not enough scientific evidence to back up the suggested benefits' and so doctors would not really recommend it, instead suggesting other ways a person could breathe through their nose without trying the trend, such as clearing your nose, switching up your sleeping position or checking for structural issues, like a deviated septum.
Joe Harker