Nasal Strips for Running:
What the Research Actually Shows

By Roselle Wellness Team

Published: Sunday, July 26, 2026

Female runner wearing nasal strips for running with research data on breathing performance

Short answer: if you have normal nasal anatomy, peer-reviewed research says nasal strips will not make you run faster, and won't measurably improve your VO2 max, heart rate, or perceived effort. That's despite decades of sports marketing — and NFL side lines — suggesting otherwise. There is one specific group of people the research says they do help. Here's the honest breakdown.

In This Guide:

What the actual studies found

Why more airflow doesn't mean better performance

The one group it genuinely helps

So why do so many athletes still wear them?

Should you wear one for training or racing?

What the actual studies found

A 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis published in the European Archives of Oto-Rhino-Laryngology, covering 19 studies and 168 participants, found no statistically significant improvement in VO2 max, heart rate, or perceived exertion among healthy people wearing external nasal dilator strips during exercise. That lines up with older, individual studies going back to the strip's early years in sport: no measurable change to maximal oxygen intake, ventilation, maximal work rate, or lactate threshold when comparing athletes with normal nasal anatomy wearing strips versus not.

Why more airflow doesn't mean better performance

This part actually makes physiological sense once you know the mechanism. Nasal strips do increase nasal airflow — commonly cited at around 15% — by holding the nasal valve open, exactly as they're designed to. The catch is that once exercise intensity climbs high enough, your body switches to mouth breathing anyway, strip or no strip, because your nose alone can't move enough air to meet demand at that effort level. The strip's benefit happens at the front of your airway; your performance ceiling during hard efforts is set much further downstream, in your lungs and muscles, where the strip has no reach at all.

Runner wearing nasal breathing strips for sports during an outdoor race

The one group it genuinely helps

A more recent 2023 study of 38 endurance athletes found a real exception: nasal dilators improved aerobic performance specifically in the athletes who had nasal valve compromise — meaning their nasal passage was already narrower or partially obstructed to begin with, whether from a deviated septum, chronic congestion, or allergies — while doing nothing measurable for athletes with normal nasal anatomy. In other words, a nasal strip won't add speed to an already-clear airway, but it can meaningfully help someone whose nose was the actual bottleneck. This is the same idea covered in our mechanism guide: strips only fix restriction that's genuinely happening at the nasal valve, in sport exactly as anywhere else.

Diagram showing how nasal strips work — normal nasal lateral wall vs nasal valve collapse

So why do so many athletes still wear them?

Some of it traces straight back to how the product became popular in the first place: NFL players started wearing Breathe Right strips on television in 1994, and the association between visible strips and elite performance has stuck ever since, even though the research on unrestricted athletes doesn't support a performance effect. The more grounded reasons athletes keep wearing them: subjective comfort, less mouth dryness during long efforts, and — for the subset with genuinely restricted nasal airways — a real, measurable benefit that just doesn't show up in studies averaged across everyone.

Should you wear one for training or racing?

Worth trying, cheaply, before ruling it out either way. If you're unsure whether your nose is a limiting factor, the same 10-second self-check from our Best Nasal Strips UK guide applies here too — if gently pulling your nostrils open noticeably improves airflow, you may be in the group the 2023 study identified as genuine beneficiaries. If it makes no difference, a strip is unlikely to move your stopwatch, but plenty of runners still find them comfortable for reducing mouth dryness on long efforts regardless.

Male distance runner racing outdoors — deciding whether to wear nasal strips for training or racing

FAQ

Do nasal strips make you run faster?
Not according to the meta-analysis evidence — for runners with normal nasal anatomy, studies show no significant change in VO2 max, heart rate, or perceived exertion.

Why do so many athletes wear nasal strips if they don't improve performance?
Partly historical (NFL players popularised them on TV in the 1990s) and partly genuine subjective comfort — reduced mouth dryness and easier nasal breathing at rest and during lower-intensity efforts, even without a measurable performance change.

Who actually benefits from nasal strips during exercise?
Research specifically identifies athletes with restricted nasal patency — an already narrower or partially obstructed nasal passage — as the group that sees a real, measurable performance benefit.

Is it still worth wearing nasal strips for running even without a performance boost?
Many runners find them worthwhile for comfort alone — easier nasal breathing and less mouth dryness on long runs — just don't expect it to change your finish time if your nasal airway was already clear.