EXPLAINED | Mouth taping — everything you need to know about this new 'health trend'

For plump lips, young Snapchat users took to sucking on bottles to give them a temporary lift. The Kardashian clan was lambasted by health experts for promoting waist trainers as a form of shaving off extra weight around the belly. But the latest health fad seems to have taken it too far.

Mouth taping has taken the world by storm with many sharing the claimed health benefits of using tape to help you breathe through your nose while sleeping. While it might seem like a death trap, we take a look at the origins, the alleged benefits and alternatives to the dangerous sleep trend.

NEED FOR SLEEP

Known as the Buteyko breathing technique, the trend was first sparked by singer Andien. According to the BBC, the technique was developed in the 50s by Soviet doctor Konstantin Pavlovich Buteyko who developed the eponymous method with the belief respiratory conditions could be dealt with if patients learnt how to breathe correctly.

Buteyko's methods may be odd but it did help that there were believers, especially many suffering from sleep apnoea. This is what drew Andien in as she was suffering from sleep issues. In an Instagram live video, Andien showed her fans how she and her family have benefited from using the Buteyko technique.

STAR ENDORSEMENTS

The mouth taping social media storm has been a viral sensation thanks to the stars behind it. TV personality Julia Bradbury has also shown her support in a radio interview saying she uses mouth taping to improve her sleeping habits. 

One of the biggest names to endorse the trend is soccer giant Erling Haaland, who told Logan Paul in a recent interview it has great benefits for his health. Haaland believes the method is best “at night, and when you train”, stressing that it's not about keeping your mouth shut but ensuring you breathe better.

Famed for her love of questionable health fads, Gwyneth Paltrow filmed her morning routine which also featured mouth taping. Her preferred method was using myotape to help produce alkalinity in her body while sleeping.

SO, DOES IT WORK?

Speaking to The New York Times, voice and swallowing specialist Ann Kearney explains there are multiple benefits to breathing through the nose. Not only is it a more effective way of breathing, it helps humidify the air and allows your lower lungs to help you take in deeper and fuller breaths. She also shared that breathing through your nose helps you ease into sleep when the time comes.

Kearney also said that sleeping with your mouth wide open can cause a dry mouth that leads to cavities, bad breath, a hoarse voice and dry, cracked lips. A sleep specialist from the Cleveland Clinic also explained that breathing through your nose helps defend against infections and wards off allergies.

But this does not mean mouth taping is the best solution.

In the same piece, sleep medicine specialist Dr Andrew Wellman says his studies on mouth taping can help reduce snoring but there is no evidence that it can cure conditions like sleep apnoea. 

THE DANGERS

Speaking to The Guardian, Dr Michael Fitzpatrick explains that nasal breathing has advantages but there are risks to encouraging it by taping your mouth.

“Basically, taping the mouth is a bad idea because we breathe through our mouth only when the nose is partially or completely obstructed,” he said. “Hence, if the nose is partially or completely obstructed, taping the mouth makes no sense and would only be deleterious.”

Banner Health has also warned against it, saying it is not actually making much of a difference due to it being a placebo effect.

“Often when people start doing things like mouth taping, which is probably quite a big step for someone, it’s usually coinciding [with them] also taking more time with their fitness, with their mental health, taking exercise — so it’s unlikely that someone will do mouth taping in isolation,” Banner Sleep Clinic expert, Dr David Garley said, warning of the following issues:

• Blocking your airflow, making it harder for you to breathe while you’re sleeping
• Sleep apnoea
• Skin irritation or allergic reaction from the tape
• Aspiration — if you vomit or have acid reflux when your mouth is taped, the stomach contents could go into your lungs.

ALTERNATIVES TO MOUTH TAPING

With sleep being one of the main reasons people look to mouth taping, experts have suggested people try positive habits before bed whether it's limiting their use of social media or watching TV, and try practising meditation or calming breathing exercises.

Banner Health suggests any conditions should be discussed with health professionals.