Is tap really answe to a g night’s sleep?
In summer, nearly half of us find it harder to drop off – so could mouth taping, which counts TV’S Tess Daly as a fan, be the solution? Hannah Britt tries it out
When Tess Daly recently revealed that she tapes her mouth shut to help her sleep, I was intrigued. “It’s mouth taping! A method that helps to encourage nose breathing, for a deeper, more restful sleep,” the 54-year-old Strictly Come Dancing presenter told her 837,000 Instagram followers.
And stats show she’s by no means alone in wanting to improve her slumber.
New research from Samsung reveals the sleep patterns of almost half (46 per cent) of UK adults are impacted at this time of year due to changing light levels and warmer weather, and over a third (34 per cent) are open to trying new things to boost their sleep quality.
As a pretty light sleeper myself, this is familiar territory. Over the years I have tried all sorts to help me drift off, from eye masks to pillow sprays. I’ve even borrowed my three-year-old’s white noise machine.
Would a simple piece of tape be the sleep saviour I’d been looking for? I was keen to give Tess’s remedy a go.
Delving into the first-aid kit I found some surgical tape, and stuck a strip vertically across my mouth as I climbed into bed. My partner John rolled his eyes as he saw me.
“Another fad?” he asked, as he kissed the tape goodnight.
And indeed he might be right.
“Mouth taping encourages nasal breathing, which may well help to assist restful sleep,” says Sammy Margo, sleep expert at Dreams (dreams.co.uk).
“It works by closing the mouth, meaning you will breathe through your nose rather than your mouth.
“This may help reduce bad breath, dry mouth, night-time thirst and mild snoring. However, more research needs to be done and, at the moment, only anecdotal evidence backs this up.”
There are drawbacks to taping your mouth, too.
“Your sleep may get disrupted if it’s uncomfortable and you can’t do it if you
taped have a blocked nose, sinusitis, allergies or nasal polyps,” says Sammy.
“You must use the right tape too, or it may irritate your skin – choose surgical, micropore tape, not the sticky tape you’d use to wrap a present.”
When taping my own mouth, I found that the tape simply fell off – or was removed by my curious toddler.
But when I switched to a sturdier tape, it made me feel claustrophobic.
“Mouth taping isn’t great if you are anxious about having your lips sealed or if you have facial hair. Take care when removing it and ensure that you test it first on your skin,” says Sammy.
“As a rule, remove it if you feel any physical or mental discomfort. I’d recommend checking with your healthcare practitioner before trying.”
Having spent my night wrangling with tape, I woke in the morning less refreshed than normal. Perhaps mouth taping does the trick for Tess, but it’s a firm no from me.