Erling Haaland Does What!?

Recently, Erling Haaland was on Logan Paul’s podcast, Impaulsive.

While they had many things to talk about, they ended up on the topic of sleep.

As an athlete, you should already know how important sleep is to performing at your highest level.

Erling and I would even argue that it’s the most important thing.

However, there might be ways to level up that you don’t even know about... yet.

During the podcast, Haaland mentioned that he tapes his mouth during sleep.

Huh?

You mean he’s the second best player in the world AND he’s crazy?

Well, he might be… but here’s the thing:

He’s on to something.

Humans are not supposed to breathe through their mouths while at rest.

Yet, an estimated 61% of Americans mouth breathe by default.

But it is super harmful to your health over long periods of time.

To give some context, mouth breathing is linked to:

• crowded teeth

• gum disease

• digestive issues

• chronic fatigue

• lower sleep quality

• improper facial development

On the other hand, the benefits of nasal breathing include:

• better air filtration

• increased oxygen absorption

• slower rate of breathing

• ensures better diaphragm function

For the 16 hours a day that we’re awake (well, most of us), we can control if we have our mouths open or not.

But for the 8 hours you’re asleep, it's impossible to consciously correct it.

And it shows - an estimated 71% of people breathe through an open mouth during the night.

That means, statistically speaking, you probably sleep with your mouth open.

This isn't to be overlooked.

Remember how I mentioned that mouth breathing lowers your sleep quality?

Well, sleep is when our bodies go into healing mode and repair all the damage from training that day.

If you’re not sleeping optimally, you’re not recovering properly.

There’s a chance that you could be leaving quite a bit on the table.

At the top, the gap between players is so small. Finding those ways to improve ever so slightly can be the difference between breaking into the first team or staying on the bench.

When you think about from that perspective, putting a strip of tape over your mouth isn’t so crazy after all.

DISCLAIMER:

Over the next couple of days, really pay attention to your breath.

Start to notice if you breathe through your mouth, and do your best to correct it when it happens.

Oh, and here’s our favorite mouth tape (use code: footytutor for 10% off).

Resources to help you improve when you’re ready:

Improve your stamina in 6 weeks

The best game to improve your first touch

Until next time,

Footytutor