I’ve been on a mouth taping journey the past 6 months trying all the brands. Was skeptical at the beginning of differences beyond branding but was proven wrong! Black color = you’re gonna drool and stain your pillowcase, small sizing = your lips will overpower it in the night and it will come off, strong adhesive = you’re gonna rip your skin off and look like a lunatic for a few days… Skinny Confidential has been the winner for me but I HATE the girly branding(and use of the word Skinny)!!! Going to try Sleep or Die…
Enjoyed this piece so much. Your grandfather is a baller!! Someone persuaded me that mouth tape might stop me from snoring (it doesn’t) but a 4 hour Huberman podcast itself is the best remedy for insomnia I know!
people have assumed that Cann and Brez and Nowadays have fully captured the audience, but people swapping alcohol for THC will only go bigger and bigger and folks are underestimating just *how* omnipresent this will get.
cannabevs are 18% of all Adult Beverage sales in Minnesota now, and just scratching the surface of awareness/adoption.
when i started Groovewagon we knew we were early, but three years in it's easy to think "this category has gotten so saturated" (which we knew was gonna happen) yet when you get out IRL people are very shocked to even learn drinking weed is a thing.
The podcast Maintenance Phase has a phenomenonal episode on that sleep book, and if you're interested in more critiques of pop non-fiction books, you might give If Books Could Kill a listen.
Another great post Joe! The power of marketing is being able to sell medical tape at a 500% markup - wishing I was an early investor in your business that could have been.
As a chronic insomniac, I can say that all the propaganda about “sleep deprivation will kill you” only reinforced my anxiety and made it harder to sleep. So I’m glad people are realizing that’s an oversimplification. I found a program from the lady who trained the astronauts to sleep in the space station and all of her advice is hugely opposite to what pop sci podcasts and books tell us. In short: if you have a sleep problem, your nighttime routine is not as important as a consistent wake up time and morning routine. Your morning routine is much more influential on your circadian rhythms than night time. Another thing people gloss over is the term sleep deprivation. It’s not the same as bad sleep. Short term sleep deprivation can actually be helpful in repairing a healthy sleep drive. I discovered this first hand when I forced myself to wake up at 5:30AM for a month regardless of when I had gone to bed. It was hell. But it resulted in me, at the end of the month and basically ever since, being able to reliably sleep through the night for the first time since I was seven years old. I still don’t get enough sleep but the quality has improved tremendously.
Yes!! I’ve been a night owl my whole life and that is when I do my best creative work but I have to get to the office by 7:30AM so I have to work against my chronotype. what about you? Morning person?
I’m too scared to try mouth taping since it feels hard to breath out of my nose due to allergies, which is why I’m first trialing intake breathing nose strips and sinus rinse
One may see some terms drift as "protein shake" becomes "meal replacement shake" or even a search for a brand name. The trend may be stronger or weaker than one supposes based on the single term.
Your grandpa's Latin dig had me absolutely shook. I would love to hear about other books he's absolutely torn apart. More grandpa commentary please.
Ugh i can't tag people in notes but i will encourage him haha
Ha! I just happened to find some Hostage tape I thought I’d lost from when I bought it a couple years ago. I’m going to use it again tonight 🤣
Ps. Your Grandpa is a G
How'd it go?
He's the best :)
I’ve been on a mouth taping journey the past 6 months trying all the brands. Was skeptical at the beginning of differences beyond branding but was proven wrong! Black color = you’re gonna drool and stain your pillowcase, small sizing = your lips will overpower it in the night and it will come off, strong adhesive = you’re gonna rip your skin off and look like a lunatic for a few days… Skinny Confidential has been the winner for me but I HATE the girly branding(and use of the word Skinny)!!! Going to try Sleep or Die…
Just the black brand (Dreamvision) stained my pillow!! Other colors have been fine haha
Nice! Wait what does the color have to do with the functionality?
Such a great point about being in your little bubble and feeling late to everything!! Also love the grandpa Latin dunk hehe
So glad you appreciated it haha it's the best!
I love when anyone throws down but esp when old ppl throw down so casually but utterly devastatingly
Enjoyed this piece so much. Your grandfather is a baller!! Someone persuaded me that mouth tape might stop me from snoring (it doesn’t) but a 4 hour Huberman podcast itself is the best remedy for insomnia I know!
He certainly is! Hahaha he is helping the world sleep one way or another
weeeeeed drrrrrrankkkkks!!!
people have assumed that Cann and Brez and Nowadays have fully captured the audience, but people swapping alcohol for THC will only go bigger and bigger and folks are underestimating just *how* omnipresent this will get.
cannabevs are 18% of all Adult Beverage sales in Minnesota now, and just scratching the surface of awareness/adoption.
when i started Groovewagon we knew we were early, but three years in it's easy to think "this category has gotten so saturated" (which we knew was gonna happen) yet when you get out IRL people are very shocked to even learn drinking weed is a thing.
https://raleighmag.com/2025/03/thc-cbd-beverages/
Fascinating! I buy this for sure
The podcast Maintenance Phase has a phenomenonal episode on that sleep book, and if you're interested in more critiques of pop non-fiction books, you might give If Books Could Kill a listen.
Ah thanks for the recommendation!
Another great post Joe! The power of marketing is being able to sell medical tape at a 500% markup - wishing I was an early investor in your business that could have been.
Thank you! And me too — we need to find the 2025 equivalent haha
I enjoyed this post Joe--interesting.
And I feel honored that that you remembered my email to you seven years ago.
Grandpa Jim
As a chronic insomniac, I can say that all the propaganda about “sleep deprivation will kill you” only reinforced my anxiety and made it harder to sleep. So I’m glad people are realizing that’s an oversimplification. I found a program from the lady who trained the astronauts to sleep in the space station and all of her advice is hugely opposite to what pop sci podcasts and books tell us. In short: if you have a sleep problem, your nighttime routine is not as important as a consistent wake up time and morning routine. Your morning routine is much more influential on your circadian rhythms than night time. Another thing people gloss over is the term sleep deprivation. It’s not the same as bad sleep. Short term sleep deprivation can actually be helpful in repairing a healthy sleep drive. I discovered this first hand when I forced myself to wake up at 5:30AM for a month regardless of when I had gone to bed. It was hell. But it resulted in me, at the end of the month and basically ever since, being able to reliably sleep through the night for the first time since I was seven years old. I still don’t get enough sleep but the quality has improved tremendously.
Fascinating! That makes sense. Are you more energized at night than the morning usually?
Yes!! I’ve been a night owl my whole life and that is when I do my best creative work but I have to get to the office by 7:30AM so I have to work against my chronotype. what about you? Morning person?
Yeah I sort of recently realized it and have been trying to lean into it - am only really creative before like 10am haha
I’m too scared to try mouth taping since it feels hard to breath out of my nose due to allergies, which is why I’m first trialing intake breathing nose strips and sinus rinse
I just heard good things about nose strips! Maybe start selling em if they work well for you ...
My problem right now is they usually fall off by the time I wake up. Do you have that issue w mouth tape?
Sometimes yeah! Need innovation!
One may see some terms drift as "protein shake" becomes "meal replacement shake" or even a search for a brand name. The trend may be stronger or weaker than one supposes based on the single term.