The 3 Best Nasal Dilators for Sleep: A Buyer's Guide (2024)

Tiny nostrils? It’s okay. You’re in a safe space.

My fiance and I have tried sleeping with just about every nasal dilator we could find, so I can confidently recommend the options below.

The Best Nasal Dilators

Whether you’re dealing with allergies, a deviated septum, or just want to alleviate snoring, a good nasal dilator is a worthwhile investment.

External dilators are the most comfortable option, and if you get the right one, they’re also the most effective. While internal dilators tend to be more cost-effective, but often more uncomfortable and less effective than some of the better external dilators out there.

This brings me to my first recommendation!

1. Intake Breathing Kit

The intake is a unique nasal dilator that uses magnets to hold your nose open.

This system allows the intake to open up the nostrils far wider than any other nasal dilator out there while also remaining firmly affixed and comfortable the whole time.

If you’re looking for the best, this is it, hands down.

How Does it Work?

Proper application and placement are important for the best experience with this dilator so be sure to watch the application video provided by Intake!

Then all you do is place the magnetic nose expander over your nose…

And walla! You can breathe as you’ve never breathed before!

Seriously though, it can actually be a little shocking just how much more air you can inhale after putting this on.

Intake also has a very helpful page that illustrates how sizing and application works in more detail if you’re curious.

How Does it Compare to Breathe Right Strips

Before Intake came along, the go-to external nasal dilators were Breathe Right strips.

The problem with Breathe Right strips is that they rely on adhesive and spring force to hold your nose open.

This means it can only pull open your nose so much before the force causes the adhesive to pull away.

While the Intake also uses adhesive, the way it’s designed allows it to pull open the nose far more with no risk of peeling off.

You also have to pay for refills with Breathe Right, so there’s really no advantage here.

Conclusion

I love this thing, It’s hard to imagine how much easier breathing can be, it’s just something you get used to.

Believe it or not, Intake even offers a 30-day money-back guarantee that specifically mentions you can use the magnetic tabs and still return the product! It’s really a risk-free trial.

Your sleep is almost guaranteed to improve with the intake nasal dilator, so try it out!

Intake Breathing Kit

Pros

• Expands nasal passages better than anything else
• Very comfortable since there’s nothing in your nose
• Doesn’t come off like breathe right strips do
• Risk-free 30-day return window

Cons

• Refills can be too much of an expense for some
• Making your own refills is an extra step

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2. Silent Mammoth

Next on our list is the best internal nasal dilator around, the Silent Mammoth.

The main reason you might want to choose this one over the Intake is once you’ve got it personalized just right, it’s a bit easier to use.

Another reason to go with an internal dilator is that they’ve actually been shown to be more effective than external dilators in studies. [R] [R]

Now it’s important to realize that this applies to external dilators like the Breathe Right strips, not the Intake kit.

Sizing

The Silent Mammoth comes in two sizes:small and large.

In order to determine your size, just measure from the base of your nostrils to the tip of your nose.

You’ll then fall into one of two camps:

• 23 mm (0.85 inches) or less, order a small
• 24 mm (0.9 inches) or more, order a large

What sets the mammoth apart from other internal dilators, is that it can be fully customized and shaped to fit your nose.

This allows you to create a dilator that fully expands your rear turbinates, where the real airflow restriction occurs.

Silent Mammoth

Pros

• You don’t have to refill it
• Expands the upper nostrils well
• Can be sized to the individual

Cons

• Less comfortable than the Intake
• Can take time to get it adjusted just right

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See Also

Best Nasal Strips for Snoring of 2024

3. Mute Rhinomed

If you’re looking for a good budget option, the one worth mentioning is the Mute nasal dilator by Rhinomed. I don’t find this one as comfortable or expansive, but it is cheaper, and it works really well for a lot of people!

So it might be worth checking out if you want to see how well a dilator could help you before upgrading to one of the better options above.

Sizing

Since the Rhinomed Mute isn’t as customizable, you’ll probably want to buy the trial pack first.

Once you find the right size, you can buy a pack of just those.

Simple as that.

Mute Rhinomed

Pros

• Great budget option
• The trial pack makes finding your size easy

Cons

• Less comfortable than external dilators
• Doesn’t expand as well as the other options above

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Do Nasal Dilators Help with Sleep?

Yes! My goodness yes.

If you have any breathing difficulties whatsoever or are just looking to improve your sleep efficiency, a nasal dilator is an incredibly useful tool.

There is plenty of evidence that nasal dilators can improve sleep quality, decrease snoring and sleep apnea, and encourage nasal breathing over mouth breathing, which comes with a whole host of benefits on its own. [R] [R] [R] [R] [R] [R] [R] [R] [R]

If you have a deviated septum, allergies, snoring problems, just have a small nose, or just want to breathe more easily at night, I highly recommend grabbing one of the dilators above to add to your sleep toolkit.