The best nasal strips for running and sports: what to look for, and our pick

The best nasal strips for running are the ones that lift the sides of your nose firmly, hold on through a sweaty session and peel off cleanly afterwards. For most runners, the honest benefit is comfort: a strip makes breathing through your nose a little easier, especially on easy days. Whether it makes you faster is far less certain, and this guide is clear about where that line sits.

What should you look for in a nasal strip for running?

A running strip has a harder job than a sleep strip. Your face heats up, sweat builds along the nose, and you might pull a cap, a buff or sunglasses on and off. Here is what matters.

What do exercise studies show about nasal strips?

The studies agree on what a strip does to the nose and disagree on what that means for performance. Our guides to nasal strips for exercise and why athletes wear nasal strips cover the history and the full set of trials. Here are the findings that matter most for runners.

Strips help you stay on nose breathing longer

A 1999 study in the Canadian Journal of Applied Physiology found a strip lowered inspiratory nasal resistance during exercise and delayed the switch from nose-only breathing to mouth-and-nose breathing by 15.2%. The authors called the delay relatively small. If you do easy runs with your mouth closed, this is the most useful effect.

Performance results are mixed

A 1997 placebo-controlled study of athletes on a cycle ergometer found a strip lowered perceived exertion, heart rate, ventilation and oxygen use at submaximal effort. Later pooled reviews are less upbeat. A 2021 meta-analysis in the European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology found strips made no significant difference to VO2max, heart rate or perceived exertion in healthy people. A 2022 meta-analysis in the Journal of Sports Sciences, limited to running, found a difference in favor of nasal dilators for VO2max and perceived exertion, but rated the certainty of that evidence very low.

The benefit may fade at harder efforts

A 1999 study in the British Journal of Sports Medicine found an external strip lowered nasal resistance at rest but was of little value after isotonic exercise, partly because exercise itself changed nasal resistance. The 1999 Canadian study saw the same pattern from another angle: as exercise got harder, people still switched to breathing through the mouth, and the strip only delayed it.

Who notices a strip most when running?

The runners most likely to notice a difference are those whose noses feel tight even at rest. In a 2000 study in the European Respiratory Journal, only 9 of 20 healthy adults had a significant drop in nasal resistance with a strip during quiet breathing, and they were the ones with higher resistance to start with.

A 2023 study of 38 endurance athletes points the same way, though it used an internal dilator rather than a strip. Athletes with nasal valve compromise had lower aerobic measures, and the dilator improved nasal airflow, VO2max and their sense of breathlessness and fatigue. In athletes without a valve problem, it didn't. Cleveland Clinic describes nasal valve collapse as a narrowing of the airway inside the nose and notes that breathing strips can help manage symptoms. If your nostrils seem to suck inward when you breathe in hard, a strip is more likely to earn its place.

How do you keep a strip on through sweat?

We couldn't find any study that tested how well nasal strips hold through sweat, rain or heat, so this part comes down to prep and the adhesive. A few habits give a strip the best chance:

• Put it on before you warm up, on skin you've washed and dried, so it starts on a clean surface.
• Keep sunscreen, moisturizer and face oils off the spot where the strip goes. Titan's instructions for its own strips say oils stop the adhesive from gripping.
• Press both ends down and hold for a few seconds so the edges start flat.
• Wipe sweat off your nose by dabbing, not dragging a sleeve across the strip.
• Carry a spare on long runs and race days.
• Take it off with warm water afterwards and peel slowly from the ends, rather than ripping it off a hot, sweaty nose.

On a hot day, apply sunscreen to the rest of your face first, then wipe the nose clean before the strip goes on.

When do strips help, and when don't they?

A strip is most useful when nose breathing is part of the plan. That means easy runs, recovery days and steady aerobic work where you want to keep your mouth closed. It can also help if your nose tends to feel blocked when you start running and you'd like that first stretch to feel easier.

A strip is less likely to matter in intervals, hill repeats and races run near your limit, where you're likely to switch to mouth breathing anyway. It also won't fix a nose that's blocked by a cold, allergies or a structural problem further back. Our nasal breathing during exercise guide covers how to build nose breathing into training, and how nasal strips work explains which part of the nose a strip can reach.

How should you trial a strip in training?

Treat your first few strips as an experiment rather than a fix. Because the research shows such different results from person to person, the only way to know if a strip helps you is to try it in a fair way.

Start with three or four easy runs on routes you know well. Wear the strip on some and not on others, and keep the pace about the same. Notice whether you can stay on nose breathing for longer, whether the first ten minutes feel less stuffy and whether the strip is still flat when you get home. A note on your phone after each run is enough.

If the strip helps on easy days, try it on one harder session before you think about a race. If it feels like it isn't doing much, check the placement first, then consider whether a stronger band would suit you. Our comparison of extra strength vs regular nasal strips explains the trade-off between lift and pull on the skin. If your nose turns red or sore after a few sessions, see our guide to nasal strip skin irritation before you keep going.

Who should skip strips or see a doctor first?

Strips are a low-risk choice, but they don't replace a check-up when something else is going on. See a doctor before relying on a strip if:

• one side of your nose is always blocked, or your nose stays blocked for weeks
• your skin reacts to the adhesive with redness or soreness that doesn't settle
• you snore loudly and also gasp, choke or feel very sleepy in the day, which the NHS lists among the signs of sleep apnoea
• you're pregnant and your breathing has changed, in which case ask your midwife or doctor first

Our pick (paid partner): TitanAir Nasal Strips

Our pick for running and sports is TitanAir Nasal Strips from Titan Recovery. We haven't tested or ranked strips ourselves, and Titan's strips weren't used in any of the studies above; this is our recommendation, based on how Titan describes its strips against the checklist.

Titan says TitanAir strips are drug-free external nasal dilators with flexible spring-loaded bands, so the lift and the nothing-absorbed design are covered. Its instructions are the same routine that helps a strip hold through a session: wash and dry the nose, skip moisturizer, place the strip just above the flare of your nostrils on the soft part of the nose, and remove it with warm water by peeling slowly from the ends inward.

Titan says the strips are third-party tested and certified PFAS-free. The 30-night guarantee gives you time to try TitanAir on easy runs and at night, and they come in 30, 90, 180 or 360-night supplies with free US shipping.

Read next

• Nasal breathing benefits
• How to apply nasal strips the right way
• Exercise and sleep

* This content is for informational and educational purposes only and is not medical advice. It is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease or health condition. Talk to a qualified healthcare provider about your health.