#216 - Nasal Strips and Sleep: Leave Me Breathless

Nasal strips have been a fixture in pharmacy aisles and on athletes' faces for decades, sold on the promise of easier breathing, but the peer-reviewed evidence often tells a different story than the packaging does. We put nasal strips and internal dilators through the RCT wringer and sort out what these devices can and can't actually do, from your bedroom to the finish line. In this episode we will:Break down what the highest-quality evidence — a 2026 meta-analysis of 17 studies and nearly 500 patients — actually found for AHI, oxygen saturation, and sleep architecture across all nasal dilator typesSit with the placebo-strip finding out of the University of São Paulo, and what it reveals about the gap between subjective "I slept better" and objective, PSG-measured outcomesCompare internal dilators like Mute against external strips, and call out where manufacturer-cited stats diverge from the independent literatureHead onto the field and track: two competing systematic reviews on whether strips help runners and athletes, and why "very low certainty" evidence still shapes what gets marketed to youTo find out more about this week's podcast sponsor BreatheUp, please use the following link: https://breatheup.com/Original intro music Vigilanteology by Abhinav Singh (copyright 2026) Original outro music Vigilanteology (reprise) by Abhinav Singh (copyright 2026)Produced by: Maeve WinterMusic by: Dr. Abhinav Singh (@sleep_vigilante), all rights reservedMoreTwitter: @drchriswinterIG: @drchriwinterThreads: @drchriswinterBluesky: @drchriswinterThe Sleep Solution and The Rested ChildThanks for listening and sleep well!