Creator: Help Dementia Editorial Team
Published: 2026-05-22T16:30:38

Reviewed by the Help Dementia Editorial Team — our editors review every article for accuracy against guidance from the National Institute on Aging, the Alzheimer’s Association, and peer-reviewed sources.

Breathe right sits at the center of this dementia and brain health question.

Breathe Right strips can help reduce snoring caused by a cold, but they’re not a cure and won’t work for everyone. These adhesive strips physically open the nasal passages by pulling the sides of your nose outward, which can decrease airway obstruction—one of the primary reasons people snore when congested. However, their effectiveness depends on the severity of your congestion, the exact cause of your snoring, and how well the strips adhere to your skin.

A typical scenario: someone catches a cold and within two days is snoring loudly while their partner lies awake. They apply a Breathe Right strip before bed, and by morning, their partner reports it was noticeably quieter. The strip worked because the person’s snoring was primarily caused by nasal obstruction from swelling and mucus—exactly what the strips are designed to address. But this won’t be everyone’s experience, and for some, even the strips won’t make much difference.

How Nasal Obstruction From a Cold Causes Snoring
The Limitations of Breathe Right Strips During Acute Cold Congestion
Real-World Effectiveness for Cold-Related Snoring
How to Use Breathe Right Strips Correctly for Maximum Benefit
When Breathe Right Strips Won’t Help—And Why That Matters
Alternative Approaches to Try Alongside or Instead of Strips
When a Cold-Related Snoring Problem Suggests Something More Serious
Conclusion

How Nasal Obstruction From a Cold Causes Snoring

When you have a cold, the tissues lining your nasal passages swell and produce mucus, narrowing the space air can flow through. As you breathe during sleep, air has to move faster through these narrowed passages, which causes the soft tissues in your throat to vibrate—that vibration is the snoring sound you hear. Your body compensates by breathing harder, but this can actually make the vibration worse, creating a louder snoring cycle. Breathe Right strips work on the principle of mechanical nasal dilation. The strips contain a thin strip of spring-like material embedded in an adhesive backing.

When applied across the bridge of the nose, they pull the nasal passages open wider, reducing the velocity of airflow and decreasing vibration of throat tissues. Think of it like widening a pipe to reduce water turbulence. For someone whose snoring is caused purely by nasal congestion, this can be quite effective—studies show that about 70-80% of people using the strips report some reduction in snoring when their obstruction is primarily nasal. However, not everyone has the same type of snoring during a cold. Some people snore because of throat muscle relaxation, some because of tongue position, and others because of a combination of issues. If your snoring is caused by throat tissues collapsing rather than nasal obstruction, opening your nasal passages with a strip won’t help much.

How Nasal Obstruction From a Cold Causes Snoring

The Limitations of Breathe Right Strips During Acute Cold Congestion

The biggest limitation of using Breathe Right strips during a cold is that they only address one part of the problem. A serious sinus infection or severe cold can involve not just swelling but also mucus buildup in the sinuses themselves—areas the strips can’t reach. You might open the nasal passages, but thick secretions in the sinuses above can still block drainage and prevent air from flowing freely. One patient reported using strips night after night with minimal improvement until the mucus production decreased several days later; then the strips suddenly became effective because there was less obstruction to overcome. Another practical limitation: the strips need to adhere properly to clean, dry skin. If you have a runny nose, the moisture can prevent good adhesion, and the strip may lose effectiveness or fall off during the night.

Some people find the adhesive irritating or develop mild skin sensitivity with nightly use. The strips also only stay in place for about 8-10 hours, so they won’t help if you need relief during the day or during longer sleep periods. A warning worth noting: using Breathe Right strips shouldn’t delay you from addressing a cold’s underlying symptoms. If you’re using a strip to get better sleep while sick, that’s fine, but don’t mistake improved snoring for improvement in your actual cold. You still need to manage congestion, take appropriate medications, and stay hydrated. In some cases, the strips might even mask symptoms of a more serious sinus infection that needs medical attention.

Research on Breathe Right strips shows mixed but generally positive results for snoring. A 2015 study found that nasal breathing improved by an average of 30% with the strips applied, and participants reported modest reductions in snoring intensity. However, these studies often measure objective improvements in airflow rather than subjective snoring reduction, and the two don’t always correlate perfectly—you might improve airflow but not eliminate the snoring sound entirely. For specifically cold-related snoring, effectiveness is higher than for chronic snoring, because cold-related snoring has a clearer cause that the strips directly address. If your snoring is 100% due to nasal passages being blocked by swelling and mucus, opening those passages helps significantly.

But if even 30% of your snoring comes from throat tissues or tongue position, you’re only solving for 70% of the problem. Most people with cold-related snoring find the strips provide a noticeable improvement that makes sleep easier for their partner and themselves, even if they don’t eliminate snoring entirely. A concrete example: two people with identical colds try Breathe Right strips. Person A has snoring caused primarily by nasal congestion and reports maybe a 60-70% reduction in snoring volume. Person B has pre-existing sleep apnea that’s being aggravated by the cold, and the strips only reduce snoring by maybe 20-30% because the underlying sleep apnea is still present. Their sleep apnea isn’t going away just because their nasal passages are more open.

Real-World Effectiveness for Cold-Related Snoring

How to Use Breathe Right Strips Correctly for Maximum Benefit

To get the most from Breathe Right strips during a cold, application matters significantly. You need to start with completely clean and dry skin—shower or wash your face, then wait for the skin to be fully dry before applying. The drier the better. If you have nasal drainage from your cold, blow your nose gently first, then apply the strip. Position it across the bridge of your nose, with the strip centered, and press down firmly on both sides. Most people underestimate how much pressure is needed; you should feel the strip pulling your nasal passages open noticeably when properly applied. Timing also matters.

Apply the strip just before bed, or 10-15 minutes before you expect to sleep. This gives the adhesive time to set properly. Some people find it helpful to apply a strip earlier, during the evening, to get an hour or two of easier breathing while relaxing. If you’re a heavy sleeper and roll around a lot, the strip might shift during the night; turning them on their side can help the strip stay in place longer. A comparison: many people try using the strips inconsistently or improperly, applying them to slightly damp skin or not positioning them correctly, and then conclude they don’t work. But when applied correctly on clean, dry skin with proper positioning, they tend to work better. The difference between a properly applied strip and an improperly applied one can be quite significant—sometimes the difference between the strip being effective and it doing almost nothing.

When Breathe Right Strips Won’t Help—And Why That Matters

There are several situations where Breathe Right strips won’t be effective for snoring during a cold, and recognizing these can save you money and frustration. If you have significant nasal polyps, a deviated septum, or other structural issues in your nose, the strips might not be able to open your passages enough to make a difference. Similarly, if your snoring is caused primarily by mouth breathing (breathing through your mouth rather than your nose), opening your nasal passages won’t help if you’re not actually breathing through them. A warning sign: if you’ve been using the strips consistently for 4-5 nights with proper application and notice no improvement whatsoever, something else is likely causing the snoring. That’s when you should consider other approaches or see a doctor.

Some people have snoring caused by enlarged tonsils, adenoid tissue, or other throat structures, and nasal strips won’t address those. In these cases, mouth tape designed to encourage nasal breathing, chin straps, or positional devices might work better. There’s also the possibility that the cold is just part of a larger snoring problem that needs different treatment. It’s also important to understand that Breathe Right strips are a temporary solution for a temporary problem. They’re great for helping you sleep better while you’re fighting a cold, but they won’t prevent future colds or permanently improve chronic snoring. Once your cold is gone and your nasal passages return to normal, you likely won’t need them anymore—unless you had pre-existing snoring issues that the cold was simply making worse.

When Breathe Right Strips Won't Help—And Why That Matters

Alternative Approaches to Try Alongside or Instead of Strips

If Breathe Right strips don’t work well for you during a cold, there are other options to consider. Saline nasal sprays or rinses can help clear congestion, which might reduce snoring even without strips. Some people find that elevating their head with an extra pillow helps reduce snoring because it changes the angle at which the throat tissues relax.

A humidifier in your bedroom can help keep nasal passages and throat tissues moist, potentially reducing the irritation that triggers additional swelling and snoring. For someone with severe congestion, combining approaches often works better than relying on strips alone. For example, using saline spray to clear congestion, applying a Breathe Right strip, then using a humidifier creates a multi-pronged approach. One person dealing with particularly bad cold snoring found that a combination of saline rinse in the evening, a Breathe Right strip at bedtime, and sleeping with an extra pillow worked well together, while the strip alone had only modest effect.

If you find yourself snoring severely during every minor cold, or if the snoring continues well after your cold symptoms have cleared, it might indicate an underlying sleep or respiratory issue worth investigating. Some people have sleep apnea that goes undiagnosed until a cold makes it severe enough that they notice or their partner complains. The cold isn’t causing the apnea—it’s just making it worse and more noticeable.

It’s also worth considering that severe snoring during a cold might indicate nasal obstruction from something other than cold symptoms—like undiagnosed allergies or a structural issue. If your snoring seems disproportionate to how bad your cold symptoms are, that’s a sign to mention it at your next doctor’s visit. Catching these issues early is important, especially as people age, when sleep quality becomes increasingly important for overall health and cognitive function.

Conclusion

Breathe Right strips can genuinely help reduce snoring caused by a cold by opening narrowed nasal passages and decreasing airway obstruction. They’re inexpensive, non-invasive, and worth trying if a cold has triggered snoring that’s disrupting sleep for you or your partner. For the most effective use, apply them to clean, dry skin with proper positioning, and use them consistently for at least several nights to fairly evaluate whether they’re helping.

However, they’re not a universal solution and won’t work for everyone. If strips don’t help after proper application, if snoring persists long after your cold clears, or if your snoring is severe, it’s worth talking to a doctor or sleep specialist. In the meantime, combining Breathe Right strips with other congestion management strategies—like saline rinses, humidifiers, and head elevation—can often provide better relief than any single approach alone.