Ashley Graham sleeps with tape over her mouth – but exactly what is taping?

Taping seems to be the next big trend.

If you follow Ashley Graham on Instagram, you definitely saw an interesting post she put up last weekend where she taped her mouth shut while sleeping. The image showed the model shutting her mouth closed with tape as she got into bed and keeping it there until she woke up the next morning. While some may have been thrown off by the image, it turns out there is an actual strategic reason she does this. The 35-year-old revealed on Instagram that she was practicing the ritual to help her get better sleep. She wrote: "I started taping my mouth shut when I sleep and I have never slept better – and even better when I wake up. Don’t knock it till you try it!!” [caption id="attachment_581256" align="alignnone" width="580"] Credit: Instagram @ashleygraham[/caption] But what actually is this ritual? According to the Sleep Foundation, if you tape your mouth while sleeping it can help prevent snoring, dry mouth, bad breath, cavities, and gum disease. People believe that trying this forces them to have to breathe through their nose while sleeping and can then avoid the bad side effects of mouth breathing.

So how do you do this?

The trick is to use a porous piece of tape and place it over both the upper and lower lips so you cannot easily open your mouth. You will then be forced to breathe through your nose for the duration of the night.

The benefits

Many have claimed that this method can ease a lot of problems such as snoring, fatigue, concentration issues, bad breath, and excessive thirst at night. While they have not been scientifically proven, research has shown that taping can help in a reduction in snoring and tiredness in people with obstructive sleep apnea. The Sleep Foundation claims that while "nose breathing filters out allergens, adds resistance that benefits lung volume, and delivers warmer, more humid air to the lungs, studies on mouth taping for people with asthma have found no benefits". "Nevertheless, proponents of mouth taping claim it may help reduce the negative effects thought to be associated with mouth breathing." These include:

• Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms
• Sleep-disordered breathing
• Dry mouth
• Cavities
• Gum disease
• Bad breath
• Slowed growth in children
• Decreased cognitive ability

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