Why I Shut It

Are you a good sleeper? I know I'm lucky in that I generally get a great night's kip.

I do my best to stick to my sleep hygiene routine, but in recent years I've added something extra.

Now I also tape my mouth shut before sleep 🤐😲 and started to do this after reading James Nestor’s book, Breath.

There are numerous benefits to mouth taping:

• Helps ensure nose breathing, which is better for you than mouth breathing breathing as it filters out allergens, adds resistance that benefits lung volume, and delivers warmer, more humid air to the lungs.

• Reduces snoring as, with the mouth closed, the angle of the palate and the tongue is changed

• Reduces the effect of other disorders created by mouth breathing including dry mouth, cavities, gum disease, bad breath

Plus a rather personal additional benefit for me - as I sleep more deeply I’m less likely to get up in the night to go to the loo!

The kind of tape you use is important. It must be porous and intended for use on human skin (never use duct tape or masking tape). You simply take a piece about 2cm square and put it over the centre of your lips. Watch here to learn more.

I honestly swear by it. Give mouth taping a try and let me know how you get on.

(Do you get the reference of the pic?!)