After Gwyneth Paltrow, several influencers now also cover their mouths at night. They promise all kinds of health benefits, but why?
One thing can be said for sure: the cold season is not the ideal time to try to “cover your mouth”. The supposed beauty trend has been appearing more frequently on top relevant dogs’ TikTok channels for some time now. In short, it’s about becoming more alert and therefore more beautiful, healthier and even smarter by taping your mouth shut at night. The practice is even said to be effective against tooth decay. Forced nasal breathing is key.
Gwyneth “The Goop” Paltrow originally put this theory out into the world with enough resonance. She shared her best wellness routines, which included the expected like celery juice and Ayurvedic oil pulling. But also unfamiliar things like MyoTape, a cotton mouth tape developed by respiratory coach Patrick McKeown that is also available from other manufacturers. Although these strips do not completely cover the mouth, some influencers completely close the mouth with conventional plastic tape. We know that Tesa, Gaffa, etc. they don’t necessarily have to be skin-friendly (and why should they), since the controversial discussion of facial taping (aka the fox-eye trend).
Quiet nights
According to Paltrow, breathing through the nose improves “the alkalinity of the body” and therefore also sleep. Pool owners beware, but the actress is probably talking about something related to acid-base balance; the topic has not been defined precisely nor worked on scientifically.
Doctors at the Sleep Foundation told The Huffington Post that there is very limited evidence about the benefits and harms of mouth taping. While there is anecdotal evidence of benefits such as reducing snoring, there are also risk factors to consider, including possible lip irritation and sleep disturbances. The recommendation is: talk to your doctor before closing your mouth with tape.
Obstruction of nasal breathing
The reason for poor sleep usually lies elsewhere. In these cases, covering the mouth would almost certainly not be a solution.