To close out the year, GQ is revisiting the most fascinating ideas, trends, people, and projects of 2023. For all of our year-end coverage, click here.
If you kept tabs on Elon Musk or followed the Sam Bankman Fried trial, you may not believe me when I confidently tell you that 2023 was the year of dudes keeping their mouths shut. However, if your interests lie more towards soccer or tennis highlights, you might be more inclined to go with it, particularly after seeing tennis pro Iga Swiatek tape her mouth closed during practice, or hearing soccer star Erling Haaland unpack the benefits of mouth taping for sleep on Logan Paul’s Impaulsive podcast.
Everyone in bro podcast land is clamoring about nose breathing, of all things. And believe it or not, experts say there’s a reason why this of all things is filtering through the zeitgeist: the schnoz is resoundingly the best way to breathe. Study after study suggests that it better oxygenates our systems, that it humidifies and purifies the air that enters our systems, that it reshape our jaw by adjusting how our tongue sits in the mouth, and that when used during high-intensity exercise, could prevent anxiety and hyperventilation.
“Despite the fact that we breathe from the time we are born, the breath is a tool that, for many athletes, has untapped potential,” says Matthew Mikesell, PhD, CMPC, a Licensed Psychologist at Premier Sports Psychology. “Physiologically, research indicates that nasal breathing provides twice the airflow resistance than that of mouth breathing, which trains the diaphragm to become stronger. Just as we use resistance training for our body, we can use resistance training for our breath.”
For what it’s worth, many in-the-know wellness devotees have long been nose-breathing supporters. Ujjayi breath, a centuries-old yogic breath technique, directs air in and out of the nose, mimicking the sound of ocean waves. The Buteyko Method, developed to improve oxygenation to the body and decrease symptoms of asthma, was introduced in the Soviet Union around the 1950s.
The question becomes: Is mouth taping going to be a durable wellness practice like yogic breathing, or more of a passing fad? It’s probably too soon to tell, but as it stands now, the hashtag “mouthtaping” has 143.2 million views on TikTok, and Amazon sells thousands of units of specialized mouth tape monthly.
While many people were first exposed to the idea by James Nestor’s 2020 book Breath, the trend took off on TikTok in earnest around 2022. Skinny Confidential podcast host Laryn Bosstick, professed the benefits of mouth-taping on her TikTok after hearing Stanford Neurobiologist Andrew Huberman talk about it on his podcast, Huberman Lab. “What I notice is that I wake up with so much more energy. Other benefits are less cavities, reduced snoring, better breath,” she says, “but honestly, I’ve noticed that I just have a deeper sleep.” That video has 35.2K likes.
Huberman pushed the practice a step further in a LinkedIn post, writing: “Some people opt to tape their mouth shut before sleep, but another solution that is additionally beneficial is to restrict yourself to nasal breathing during low to moderate intensity cardiovascular exercise (which we should all be doing at least 180 to 200 minutes per week for health).” And then, as if whispering it into existence, the athletes, one by one, put up and taped up.
Ultramarathoner and breathwork coach Rory Warnock posted on Instagram about taping his mouth for the Sydney Half Marathon. “I wanted to demonstrate that we can still perform to a high ability, only nasal breathing,” he wrote. “We’re designed to adapt. Give the body the correct environment and stimulus and it will do exactly that.” Swiatek, similarly said in a press conference that: “It’s harder to breathe when you’re only breathing with your nose, and it’s easier for my heart rate to go up,” she told reporters. “It’s a way to work on my endurance by not having me run so fast and do extreme things.”
Look, we can get back to the how—the crux of how mouth breathing impacts CO2 tolerance; restructuring your diaphragm; changing your jaw shape—but maybe what’s more important is taking a look at why people are doing this.
We’re in the era of exploiting the edge—where if you’re not on to the new thing, you’re not in the conversation. Between the chatter on social media, Internet hype, and talking heads—all looking to fill space and time—we’re consistently reminded of how to optimize our every moment. We must train like athletes, getting in a good sweat and a great sleep with techy new equipment, despite the fact that most of us aren’t training for the Olympics. If there is a trend at hand, you’d better believe there’s pressure to try it from every angle.
That’s when something like mouth-taping slowly works its way into the collective consciousness. As Mikesell puts it, when one athlete starts doing mouth-taping, others fear that they’ll fall behind or not reach their potential when it comes to performing at their best. “For better or worse,” he says, “trends often catch on faster than research can catch up, but that doesn’t always mean the research isn’t out there.”
In this case, it is. Nose breathing is perfectly fine—preferable even, according to every expert I spoke with. The tape, less so, but by all means, when responsibly applied, is probably okay, too.
What they’re less sold on is the idea that everything that crosses our screens needs to be in our personal repertoires, cautioning scrutiny and personal considerations before adopting the latest physiology fad. In other words, keep the nose breathing, but don’t feel like you have to tape.
