I Tried This Creator's Viral Sleep Routine That She Says Gives Her The Best Sleep Ever, And The Lack Of Bags Under My Eyes In The Morning Showed Me She's 100% Correct
Living in this dumpster fire of a world, it can be a biiit challenging to actually relax from the stress of a normal day and get some solid rest when nighttime rolls around. I'll lay there with eyes closed, just waiting for sleep to come, but then all I do is think about every bad thing that's ever happened. So, although I should be winding down to sleep — I end up winding myself up instead by mindlessly scrolling through my phone for hours. When it's suddenly 3 a.m., I just know my sleep-deprived self will be full of rage and regret in the morning.
Luckily for me, during one of my recent nightly doom-scrolls, I came across a viral TikTok from content creator @HannahChody that spoke to my sleepy soul. She talks about her sleep routine that her husband described as looking like she's "being held hostage," and to that she says, "Fair, but it's the best sleep ever." I was super intrigued and had a strong feeling she was onto something here!
@hannahchody this is so specific but life changing sleep is important what can i say #sleep #sleephack #mouthtaping #wellnesshacks #lifehacks #wellness #productivity #morningroutine #nighttimeroutine #health #ouraring #sleepcrown #fyp
♬ original sound - Hannah Chody
Via TikTok: @HannahChody / Via tiktok.com
In the video, which has been viewed over 7.5 million times, Hannah shows viewers her full routine, complete with each crucial item needed for restful slumber — starting with her sound machine:
I'm a total sound machine girl myself and have resorted to playing a "10 hours of rain sounds" YouTube video when in need. It gives my brain something comforting to focus on instead of my phone, aids in blocking out racing thoughts, and helps me to drift off to sleepy town. As Hannah perfectly summarizes in her post, "Sleep quality is of utmost importance for me to function."
Next (and my personal favorite part) is mouth tape, which is definitely the main contributing factor in looking like a hostage:
For luxury, light deprivation, and to avoid wrinkles, she puts on a silk sleep mask:
Next, we have the "sleep crown" that she lays over her face, aka her light- and sound-blocking pillow:
Lastly, she completes the ritual by lying down on two pillows stacked on top of each other and gets comfy:
This level of commitment to restful sleep is truly something to be admired, and I honestly trust her with my life after this thorough demonstration. I knew immediately that I had to try out this routine myself.
NOTE: I did do a bit of a cheaper version using thrifty alternatives while I'm testing it for the first time before making the full commitment.
Before I tried holding myself hostage by taping my own mouth shut in the name of better sleep, I did a deep dive into the one question that everyone had right away:
She tells viewers in a follow-up video, "From what I've read, it helps lower your blood pressure, sleep more deeply, and helps to avoid waking up with a sore throat because that is usually caused by sleeping with your mouth open."
To find out more about this, I reached out to Dr. Kristina Wolf. Dr. Kristina replied, "She's actually not wrong! There are many benefits to mouth taping. Mouth taping is something I recommend to patients for the reasons she's stated, [as well as] for a whole slew of other reasons.
"It promotes nasal breathing. The nose is our organ for breathing. To skim the surface, nasal breathing is important as it warms, moisturizes, humidifies, and filters the air we breathe. When we breathe air through the nose, it stimulates the release of nitric oxide from our sinuses that surround the nasal cavity. This creates dilation of the blood vessels, which therefore reduces blood pressure, increases the area for gas exchange, as well as acting as a potent defender against pathogens."
When asked if it is safe to sleep with mouth tape, she said, "Yes, it is. There is a caveat to it being 'safe' in that most people have the ability to breathe through their noses. However, some people have anatomical or bony blockages in the nose which keep them from breathing properly throughout the nose. Our bodies are prone for survival, and so, you would remove the tape from your mouth before it would cause harm. For this reason, that's why I recommend a tape that is easy to remove and is not too adhesive. A good way to test if mouth taping might be safe for you is to tape your mouth for small periods of time during the day. At the minimum, you should be able to tolerate tape on your mouth and nasal breathing for at least 5 minutes during quiet, restful activities like watching TV or reading. If you cannot, you might have a nasal blockage and I wouldn't recommend taping at nighttime until you consulted with an ENT."
With the doctor's green light, it was time for me to try it out! I got all of my supplies ready to go:
I searched for everything on Amazon and just selected the cheapest option for each — no product was more than $10! For a DIY sleep crown, I took one of my floppiest pillows and forced it into a bowtie shape with a scrunchie so my nose and mouth would be uncovered. Was it aesthetically pleasing? Absolutely not. Was it crafty? Hell yeah, it was.
I got the star of the show, the mouth tape, all ready to go:
Kelsie Hammond
Although I 100% trust the expert's recommendation, I am a human blob of anxiety just wandering the earth and worrying about everything, so I had a few concerns, including but not limited to:
😰 What if the tape isn't sticky enough, comes undone, and I choke on it in my sleep?
😰 What if it's TOO sticky and I can't rip it off if I need to breathe because my nose gets stuffy?
😰 What if it irritates my skin and makes me break out?
😰 What if I just get sensory overload by my mouth being taped and can't fall asleep?
But I moved forward with shaky confidence:
Kelsie Hammond
Once I put the tape on, I noticed a few things. First of all, it feels super light and sticky! It goes right on and stays there. Although I was worried it would stress me out, I hardly noticed it after a few minutes, and it actually made me feel weirdly calm. I can't explain that, but I'll literally accept anything without question if it helps me relax. I will say, however, that it's best to put it on riiiight when you're lying down, because I put it on and then had to reapply because I got thirsty before crawling in bed.
In the wise words of Gwenyth Paltrow: "And there we go. It's time for me to get in bed."
Kelsie Hammond
Now that I had my sound machine playing in the background, mouth tape on, and eye mask all set — it was time for my makeshift sleep crown to bring it all together in sleepy harmony.
Kelsie Hammond
And you guys...I fell asleep almost instantly.
Okay — I honestly loved this so much.
It's easier said than done to just put my phone away when it's time to go to bed, but all of these factors in the mix made reaching for my phone a non-issue. Just having a routine with a set structure helped so much. The sleep mask and pillow over my face worked amazingly to block out light and sound, and they stayed in place the entire night! The mouth tape stayed on all night too and was super easy to take off in the morning. Surprisingly, it didn't leave a slimy residue from the adhesive. All I had to do was open my mouth and it came right off without any kind of irritation. I'm actually struggling to find any complaints because I slept through the night super comfortably!
Getting intentional about my sleep habits definitely helped me get a better night of rest. I woke up feeling noticeably more refreshed, tossed and turned way less because I was sooo comfy and cozy, and snoozed my alarm only twice instead of my normal six times. I will be doing this again and recommending it to all my sleepy friends too!
A huuuge shoutout to @HannahChody for changing my sleep routine for the better! If you'd like to keep up with her lifestyle tips and tricks, you can follow her on TikTok.
