Why Is Erling Haaland Sleeping With Tape On His Mouth? The Science Behind The Viral Athlete Trend

In a Logan Paul podcast in 2023, Erling Halaand had spoken about the importance of sleep and the Manchester City striker admitted that he sleeps with tape on his mouth. This clip has been circulating on all social media platforms lately as Erling Halaand gains popularity throughout TikTok and Instagram. Soon after, tennis star Iga Swiatek was also spotted using mouth tape during a game, fuelling curiosity about a practice that has quietly gained momentum among elite athletes, wellness influencers, biohackers, and fitness enthusiasts.Social media quickly turned mouth taping into the latest performance hack. Videos claim it improves oxygen intake through the nose, boosts sleep quality, enhances recovery, sharpens focus, and even elevates athletic

performance. But does science support these promises, or is this another viral trend running ahead of the evidence? According to sports physiotherapists, the answer is far more nuanced than the internet makes it seem.

Why Are Athletes Using Mouth Tape?

The idea behind mouth taping is simple: placing a piece of tape over the lips encourages breathing through the nose instead of the mouth during sleep, or, in some cases, during low-intensity exercise. Nasal breathing has well-established physiological benefits. The nose warms, humidifies, and filters incoming air before it reaches the lungs. It can also promote slower, more controlled breathing, particularly during rest or low-intensity activities. However, that doesn't automatically mean taping the mouth improves performance.

Dr. Kajal Goyal, Team Physiotherapist of the India Women's Sepak Takraw Team, says there is currently no strong scientific evidence that mouth taping itself improves oxygen delivery, speeds recovery, or enhances athletic performance in otherwise healthy individuals. "The popularity of mouth taping has outpaced the research," she explains. "Elite athletes often combine multiple recovery strategies, including nutrition, sleep optimisation, physiotherapy, and carefully planned training. It's impossible to attribute their performance to mouth taping alone."Nasal breathing isn't the same as mouth taping. One of the biggest misconceptions online is treating nasal breathing and mouth taping as interchangeable. Experts stress that they are two different concepts. Research supporting nasal breathing during lower-intensity exercise is more encouraging than research supporting mouth taping itself. Encouraging someone to breathe through the nose naturally is very different from physically forcing the mouth to stay closed.

As exercise intensity increases, the body's oxygen demand rises sharply. That's when most people, including elite athletes, naturally begin breathing through both their nose and mouth. Dr. Goyal says this is a completely normal physiological response and should not necessarily be prevented. "If someone is sleeping well, recovering adequately, and has no breathing dysfunction, I wouldn't recommend mouth taping as a routine performance strategy," she says. "Quality training, nutrition, hydration, sleep, and recovery have much stronger scientific evidence behind them."

Is It Safe To Exercise With Your Mouth Taped?

This is where experts become more cautious. Some athletes have been seen wearing mouth tape during training sessions, prompting others to copy the practice. But sports medicine experts say this isn't suitable for everyone. During high-intensity exercise, the body needs significantly more oxygen, and breathing through both the nose and mouth becomes important. Restricting the mouth may increase feelings of breathlessness and reduce exercise tolerance. While healthy individuals with completely clear nasal passages may tolerate mouth taping during very light activities, experts say it should never become a blanket training method.

Who should avoid mouth taping?

Doctors say certain people should avoid mouth taping altogether unless they've first been medically evaluated.This includes those with:

• Asthma, especially if poorly controlled
• Chronic allergies or allergic rhinitis
• Sinus disease
• Chronic nasal congestion
• A deviated septum or other structural nasal blockage
• Recent respiratory infections
• Suspected or diagnosed obstructive sleep apnea
• Significant snoring or nighttime breathing difficulties

For these individuals, forcing nasal breathing may actually worsen breathing problems rather than solve them.Another widely shared claim is that regularly sleeping with mouth tape permanently retrains breathing patterns. Current evidence doesn't support that. According to Dr. Goyal, habitual mouth breathing is usually a symptom, not the underlying problem. Someone may breathe through their mouth because of blocked nasal passages, allergies, poor breathing mechanics, sleep-disordered breathing, reduced diaphragmatic function, or even stress. Simply covering the mouth doesn't address these issues.

Instead, sports physiotherapists focus on breathing retraining through diaphragmatic breathing exercises, improving posture, rib cage mobility, respiratory muscle function, and correcting dysfunctional breathing patterns where necessary. "Mouth taping should not be considered a breathing retraining intervention," Dr. Goyal says. "At most, it may serve as an adjunct in carefully selected individuals after proper screening."

Before Copying Haaland, Get Yourself Checked

Experts say it's important to remember that elite athletes represent a highly monitored population. Professional footballers and tennis players undergo regular medical assessments, respiratory evaluations, sleep monitoring, nutrition planning, and recovery management. Their routines cannot simply be copied without considering individual health. If someone is interested in trying mouth taping, specialists recommend first ruling out conditions that could make it unsafe. An ENT evaluation can identify structural problems such as a deviated septum, nasal polyps, chronic congestion, or sinus disease. Anyone who snores loudly, wakes up gasping, experiences breathing pauses during sleep, feels unusually tired despite sleeping, or frequently wakes with headaches should be evaluated for obstructive sleep apnea before considering mouth taping. Similarly, people with asthma, nighttime breathing difficulties, or exercise-induced breathing problems should seek medical advice rather than experimenting with viral wellness trends.

Mouth taping may have become the latest recovery ritual associated with stars like Haaland and Swiatek, but experts say its growing popularity has raced ahead of the science. The strongest evidence still supports the fundamentals: consistent sleep, balanced nutrition, proper hydration, structured training, and targeted breathing exercises where needed.As Dr. Goyal puts it, mouth taping isn't a corrective breathing therapy, it's simply a passive aid that may have a limited role in carefully selected individuals. Before reaching for the tape, it may be worth asking a more important question: Why am I breathing through my mouth in the first place?