By Karenna Meredith

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Mouthbreather. If we're talking sleeping styles, the familiar Stranger Things insult could easily be flung my way. I've always maintained a "comfortable" sleep position for most of my life: laying on my stomach or side, head burrowed into a pillow, with my mouth slightly open. Drool? Embarrassing, but definitely present.

While my sleeping style is pretty much habitual, I recently noticed my quality of rest decreasing. It's definitely not terrible, but I'd often wake up in the middle of the night, sometimes with a sore throat, which I'd chalk up to seasonal allergies, and spend the remaining hours of my night chasing down the REM stage. I saw a friend of mine post about using "mouth tape" at night; at first I was skeptical and a little bit spooked. The goal of mouth taping is to force nose breathing while you sleep instead of relying heavily on your mouth. The idea seemed slightly uncomfortable to me, but I couldn't abandon the feeling that it might be the solution to my (minor) sleeping woes.

According to SomniFix, a brand which offers its own line of hypoallergenic nighttime mouth strips, there are many benefits to taping before bed, including: deep sleep, more efficient carbon dioxide-oxygen exchange, and reduced sinus and oral discomforts. All good things, right? I decided to give mouth taping a try, partially for the claimed benefits and partially for my own entertainment. I'd be lying if I said I wasn't mostly slightly intrigued by the "weirdness" of it all.