EVERYTHING YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT MOUTH TAPING
What about mouth taping, a naturopath practitioner recently asked me! I replied, “What about it?” I had heard of it being the “new” thing people were doing in the health and wellness field but didn’t pay a lot of attention to what it meant or what the outcomes could be. I listened to him explain it to me and that breathwork would be important for me in my healing journey. I wasn’t too sure or even convinced but I knew I was in the right office, and I was going to listen.
In 2019 I started facing some health issues that came out of nowhere it seemed and it set me on a course with my faith and practical life application of how my body was responding to everyday things. Two thousand nineteen to the present have been years riddled with opportunities to fine-tune my faith along with understanding the body and how intricately it has been created.
Before I jump into mouth taping thoughts and research, I just want to say that there are so many things on the market, smart people, doctors, coaches, and family members who all have their OWN experience and perhaps their niche of modality when speaking about health and wellness. Mine has been focused mostly on gut health, healing leaky gut, and creating balance in myself as well as my clients. I am not writing this to elevate one thing over another, outside of the absolute fact that I did my best to walk(ing) my journey married to the deep belief and conviction that no process, person, or modality is wiser and stronger than my GOD. God created us so uniquely and mysteriously, with every joint, marrow, breath, cell, blood, nerve, muscle, tendon, and organ- the list is vast. By wisdom and understanding given to men, there are a lot of ways to strengthen and steward the body He has created for us to dwell in, but in doing so I do not disregard the creator.
My relationship and faith through these past years have not always been on display but let me assure you it is the ONE thing that has kept my head up, my heart light, and choices sure.
As I stepped slowly toward the idea of mouth taping while sleeping at night, I was led on a quest to understand it more and to determine how it would directly be affecting my sleep, efficiency to recover, mental clarity, ability to absorb nutrients optimally and how it increased healthy blood flow (since in the past year I fell anemic twice).
The design of our bodies is fascinating, and I’ve seen further now, how much attention was given to every detail of our design. “Then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature”. Genesis 2:7
MOUTH TAPING AND THE NOSE
I had no idea that the nose worked like this, but research points out that nasal tissue mirrors our state of health. When the body is inflamed or in a heightened state of imbalance the tissues in our nose can be inflamed as well. As the body goes to recover the right and left nasal cavities work like an HVAC system controlling chemical releases to the brain to alter mood, blood pressure, temperature, emotions, and sleep.
Breathing through your nose activates two out of three parts of the autonomic nervous system. The autonomic nervous system controls involuntary bodily functions like the heart rate, blood pressure, digestion, and respiration.
Inhaling primarily through the right nostril is like hitting the go button! Circulation speeds up, your body increases in temperature, cortisol levels, blood pressure, and heart rate all increase. The right side of the nose activates the sympathetic nervous system which is our “fight or flight” mechanism that puts the body in a more elevated state of alertness and readiness. It also feeds more blood to the left side of the brain and is associated with logical decisions, language, and computing.
Inhaling primarily through the left nostril is more like a brake system. This is where the parasympathetic nervous system is activated signaling rest and relaxation, lowering blood pressure, cooling our body, and reducing anxiety. The left side feeds more blood to the right side, influencing creative thought, and playing a role in mental abstractions and the production of negative emotions.
The state of balance that our body benefits from is influenced and may be controlled mostly by the nasal cycle. The body operates best by pivoting between action and relaxation, daydreaming and reasoning thought. To naturally adjust the airflow to suit your body and brain, you simply need to breathe through your nose.
NITRIC OXIDE’S ROLE IN MOUTH TAPING
In my research, I came across information about nitric oxide. This molecule works as a neurotransmitter and sends messages throughout the body. Nitric oxide:
1. Increases circulation by delivering oxygen into cells and aids blood vessels to relax and widen, with the effect of improving blood flow and lowering blood pressure.
2. Affects the nervous system, increasing blood flow to the brain.
3. Supports the immune system by helping your cells to communicate and react to invaders.
4. The digestive system is affected by nitric oxide as it controls the smooth muscles in the GI tract and helps to remove waste from the body.
5. The respiratory system is affected because it helps to relax the airways, keeping it from becoming restricted.
6. A renal system with adequate nitric oxide has increased blood flow to the kidneys and helps make urine.
The body makes the nitric oxide it needs from compounds in foods you eat, but research shows that by breathing consistently through the nose, nitric oxide increases SIXFOLD. With nasal breathing, we can absorb about 18 percent more oxygen than by just breathing through the mouth!
SO WHY MOUTH TAPING?
From conversations I have been involved in, many people fall asleep with chronic congestion, tight nasal pathways, or even obstruction, leading to breathing through the night with our mouths wide open. Mouth breathing has been shown to:
1. Contribute to periodontal disease.
2. Increase bad breath
3. Increase in cavities more than sugar, bad diet or hygiene.
4. Narrow the airways, leading to snoring and sleep apnea.
5. Decrease oxygen absorption because your body must work harder to breathe.
6. Leads to poor sleep quality which impacts mental, psychological and physical health.
Adding a small piece of tape to your mouth at night is a simple way to ensure you keep your mouth closed. This keeps the nasal passage engaged in use and trains the tissue inside the nasal cavity and throat to flex and stay open. When the nose does not engage in regular activity it will atrophy. Which parallels the example of “use it or lose it”. The nasal cavity responds to the inputs it receives, like other systems of the body.
MY MOUTH TAPING EXPERIENCE
I learned a lot about the function of the nose and nasal cavities. It is amazing how intricately we are created and how the smallest parts, in our human estimation, don’t seem to make a big difference.
It doesn’t matter the shape or actual size of the tape. It is more about function. I began a few months ago to apply a small piece of tape across my mouth at night and have felt the difference in my deep and REM sleep, seen my oxygen saturation go up, and felt more rested when I wake.
With the results I am feeling and the research done to understand the usage of the nose and function, I will continue to use this modality as part of my self-care.
Start Mouth Taping
Nestor, James. Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art. Penguin Life, 2021
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/22734-mouth-breathing
https://www.ncoa.org/adviser/sleep/mouth-breathing-and-sleep