Say what? Yup you heard me, mouth taping… it’s a thing
Why would yo want to do this? Well for starters it has a bunch of health benefits and doesn’t cost an arm and a leg to get you there. All you need is some medical tape. Personally I like using these handy devices
For those with sleep apnea, bad morning breathe, elevated blood sugar in the AM (despite being on a low carb diet), low energy, elevated stress hormones and basic digestion issues – you are going to want to check this out.
What are the benefits? Basically the opposite of everything I listed above. You will switch from utilizing your sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous system to using your parasympathetic nervous system (ahhh feel the calm)
You will experience better digestion, lower stress hormones, better sleep and improved healing (especially repair from those hard workouts at the gym). Lower bacterial load, meaning you need to have a balanced oral microbiome in order to have a healthy gut microbiome. For those of you who have a compromised immune system this ones for you, as well as those who want to prevent heart disease, control autoimmune disease, those with chronic inflammatory conditions and even those who want to try and prevent certain cancers.
I started out a few years ago recommending this to patients who were suffering from anxiety, and it worked! Of course if you are someone who is prone to being claustrophobic you may want to slowly work your way up to a full night. I typically recommend that people start with vertical (up and down) taping (one piece) and when comfortable can advance to horizontal (side to side) taping. Start out with 5-10 min in the evening or even during the day. It helps to be occupied doing something else to get your mind off of it. Once you have worked your way up to 20 minutes then go for 45! At this point you are now ready to tackle a full nights rest with your mouth taped.
Check out my video on the topic
This is good for children as well, especially for preventing cavities!
Since the body produces 25% of its nitric oxide fro nose breathing it stands to reason that mouth breathing is NOT a good thing. Why is nitric oxide so important?
- enhances memory and learning
- regulates blood pressure
- regulates inflammatory response
- improves sleep quality
- increases endurance and strength
- promotes weight loss
- improves immune/gut function
- relieves pain
- reduces heart disease risk
- helps improve symptoms of anxiety and depression
The only time I caution against mouth taping is if you have allergies, a cold or any other reason where your nose is obstructed. This also applies to if you have been heavily drinking, have taken sleeping pills or are feeling nauseous.
Lets recap the benefits:
- Deeper sleep, less snoring
- Less sore throats
- Less allergies and asthma
- Better oral hygiene, less cavities and less morning dragon breath.
- Less anxiety
- Better digestion
- Increased immunity
- Increased nitric oxide
- Calmer and clearer thinking
- Balanced hormones
Still not convinced? Google mouth taping and see the testimonials… what have you got to lose?
