I’m just wondering if anyone has tried those nasal strips to reduce snoring for sleeping/training.
I really notice a difference in how much it opens up my nose when I put the on at night. I think it is helping to reduce my snoring.
I was just wondering if I should then also wear them whilst training? Or maybe train normally but wear them on important rides to assist breathing?
Or is it just a placebo effect?
I haven’t used strips but I have used Turbine and I did like them. Especially for a time trial. Over a road race I had issues with it staying in.
Using the Turbine I put it in 30mins before the TT to increase oxygen intake. Its not comfortable I would say, but you forget about it
Definitely not a placebo effect 
According to my missus, I sometimes snore. I reckon she’s just a light sleeper 
Anyway, nasal strips and a turbine have helped in that department.
I tried both methods when riding and they also gave me a noticeable improvement to airflow. Only downsides I found:
A) nose strips tend not to stay put for the entire ride
B) people think you have a nose piercing with the turbine
C) some folks may think you’re taking things a bit too seriously with either method (marginal gains etc) 
I dont use strips both during workouts and races. But I do use cotton pads during my endurance or VO2 Max workouts.
Sorry to sound silly, but why would you put cotton pads in your nose?
Any particular brand? I’m interested in trying them for sleeping and cycling.
Thanks
I started using Breathe Right strips about a month ago and now I will not train without one.
Sweat becomes a problem about 20-30 minutes in, so I’ve found that I need to apply the strip, and then put a long strip of band-aid type tape over it to keep it from peeling up. It may look stupid, but it has a noticeable positive effect on airflow through my weird nose.
Rhinomed is the company. Turbine is the ‘sporty’ version of the nasal dialator, whilst ‘mute’ is the snoring version. I’m pretty certain they are more of less the same thing, just different colour and branding
What about breathing through the mouth instead?
I’m a bit of a skeptic when it comes to these strips.
If you think how big your mouth is compared to your nostrils, you can get all the air you need through your mouth.
But that may just be me 
That’s the one Turbine, as I said for a TT its great, RR not so for me. When your on the trainer practice with it in, as it is uncomfortable and the more you get used to it, its still uncomfortable. Just less so. 
It’s not a great idea, firstly you don’t need the volume of air you can take in via your mouth, but secondly the nose moistens and warms the air that you breathe as well as remove particles in the air, so its far better for your lungs!!
that sounds a bit reassuring that it’s not just me.
My nose has a weird shape after quite a few years of rugby and a few broken noses. I certainly find that the strips open up one of my nostrils, and I think this is helping me breathe better at night so I am sleeping better. That should mean I am recovering better, every little helps!
I will give them a go training as well.
In a little bit more time spent online, I took the test provided by the British Snoring Association, and it recommended trying Nozovent, which are inserts that push outwards. Worth trying for sleeping I think for me.
I am not sure it would help anyone but I have got a weirdly broken nose (thanks to fun in rucks etc). I don’t think they would help anyone with a ‘normal’ nose, but I certainly noticed a difference in how much easier it was to breathe when I put. them on a night, which means my mouth can stay shut a bit more.
I used both (first the strips then a turbine) for about 2 years. I stopped after having turbinate reduction surgery and having my deviated septum fixed. Now I can breath as well through my nose as I could with the turbine in place.
Not sure if helped or not but it didn’t hurt. Felt like it helped some on higher allergy rides as well in terms of how much my nose could run before I was forced to breath through my mouth. One drawback is it makes it harder to blow snot rockets when needed. Although that’s mostly just a nuisance on solo rides.
Haven’t tried using them since the surgery though.
Just a little update.
I purchased these
and in the week or so I have tried them it seems to be working really well.
The strips were bits of plastic that pulled the nostrils out, the Nozovent is a C shaped bit of soft plastic that pushes the nostrils out.
I haven’t tried them riding , but I certainly feel like they are helping me sleep.
Have you tried the turbine since having the surgery? I’m contemplating the surgery to fix my deviated septum, for allergy and airflow reasons, but a coworker of mine mentioned that he can still breathe better with the strip, even after his surgery. Wondering if this is a case-by-case thing?
The first consult I got on surgery said that he “couldn’t guarantee I would get noticeable improvements in airflow,” so I kind of tabled the matter for now.
Turbines on rides have been making a big difference so far, though.
I haven’t tried using the turbine (or strips) since. It hasn’t seemed necessary. Maybe it’d get slightly more air, I don’t know. I had trouble getting the strips to stay in place which is why I switched to the turbine.
If I recall a podcast from awhile back mentioned something to the effect of the airflow rate to the lungs isn’t the limiting factor in getting oxygen to the muscles. If I did another ironman (or a really cold dry 40k TT I suppose) I’d consider it so that I could keep my mouth shut more of the time but that’s the only benefit I’d really expect.
As far as airflow improvements, my n=1 results are that I can breath through both nostrils evenly (they both function now as well as my good nostril did prior). My guess is that if you can tell a difference between them then that would be resolved and help with airflow. Also, the septum deviation was only one part of the surgery (I had the turbinates reduced as well as the sinus passages enlarged (on some of the sinuses, not all of them). Apart from breathing I used to get pretty bad sinus infections fairly frequently.
I used to use them when I weighed 60 pounds more than I do now and snoring was a real problem because of that. They did work for me, although part of my problem is due to a deviated septum, so the blockage is right there where the strips can help.
i’ve heard they don’t actually work which is why nfl players in usa don’t wear them anymore, but no personal experience.