How to Sleep When Someone is Snoring

Reviewed by Sleep Expert Sammy Margo

“If we mention snoring most people laugh but the long-term effects on you and/or your partner are far from amusing.”

Is your partner’s snoring keeping you up at night? We totally get it—it’s super frustrating, and you’re definitely not alone – with 51% of people expressing that their partner’s snoring bothers them when sharing a bed. But here’s the good news: learning a few tricks to sleep through the snoring can make a world of difference.

Snoring happens when the soft palate and other tissues vibrate due to a partial blockage in the airway. The sound of snoring actually changes depending on which tissue is causing the ruckus! Knowing these basics can help you find smart ways to catch some quality Zzz’s, even with the background noise.

How to sleep when someone is snoring

Let’s get straight into our help and advice…

Try white noise

Playing white noise while trying to sleep is an effective way to mask other noises and help your mind focus on a soothing, consistent sound. You can place a white noise machine by your bedside or use an app on your smartphone.

Wear earplugs

Plugging in earplugs is another effective way to mask the sound of your partner snoring. Sounds greatly impact the quality of your sleep, so being able to block out potential interferences will reduce the amount of time you wake.

Sleep in the spare room

A study found that 60% of people reported sleeping better when they didn’t share a bed with their partner. So, if you’re looking to improve your sleep quality, spending the night in the spare bedroom could be a smart move.

Recommend your partner changes sleeping position

For many, sleeping on your back increases the likelihood of snoring and makes it even louder. Therefore, encouraging your partner to try a different sleeping position can help reduce snoring.

For instance, sleeping on their side rather than their back can help keep the airways open and minimise vibrations that lead to snoring. You can suggest this change and even invest in supportive pillows that can improve their comfort. Dr. Josh Axe, a certified doctor of natural medicine, advises:

The biggest difficulty may become how to keep you on your side. Using a body pillow could be useful in maintaining the position. Ultimately, this position can prevent the relaxed and untoned muscles in the throat from blocking the breathing passageways. An old remedy that could be useful is to tape a tennis ball to the back of your pyjamas so you don’t roll onto your back.

What causes snoring?

Common causes of snoring include drinking alcohol, obesity, smoking, and allergic rhinitis, and it also appears gender has a role in determining the likelihood of someone snoring. According to Sleep Education, 40 per cent of adult men are snorers, compared to 24 per cent of adult women.

Before we find a remedy that can help, it’s important to determine what kind of snorer you are to find out what exactly is causing it. Most snoring comes from the nose and throat, but other factors, such as the tongue and soft palate, can contribute to it. The type of snoring will determine how you can help stop someone from snoring.

Why do men snore more than women?

There are several reasons why men snore more than women, with biology being the main contributing factor. The male voice box generally sits lower in the throat, meaning a larger space is left open in the airway.

When the tongue relaxes during sleep, it can create a larger space that partially blocks the airway, allowing for air vibrations that lead to snoring, which is more common in men. In contrast, women generally have smaller throats, making it more likely for their tongues to completely block the airway, resulting in waking up instead of snoring.

The 5 main types of snorers

Nose – The cause of snoring is a blocked nasal passage or collapsing nostrils that leads to mouth breathing.
Mouth – This type of snoring is caused by the mouth falling open and a relaxed jaw.
Tongue – The tongue is dropped to the back of the mouth and obstructs airways in tongue snorers.
Palatal flutterer – The cause of this snoring is the soft palate and uvula vibrating.
Multifactorial –When snoring is caused by a combination of the above, you have a multifactorial snorer.

What type of snorer am i?

To work out which kind of snorer you or your partner are and, consequently, the solutions, try the following tests. If none of the tests seem to work, you will likely be a palatal flutterer. If you can answer yes to more than one, you’re likely to be a multifactorial snorer:

The nose test – Look in a mirror. Press the side of one nostril to close it. With your mouth closed, breathe in through the other nostril. Does the nostril collapse? Also, with your mouth closed, try breathing in through your nose. Can you breathe easily? If breathing is difficult or the nostril collapses, you are likely a nose snorer.

The mouth test – Open your mouth and make a snoring noise. Now, can you make the same noise with your mouth closed? If yes, you are a mouth breather.

The tongue test – Make a snoring noise. Now, stick your tongue out as far as it will go and grip it between your teeth. Is the snoring noise reduced? If yes, you are a tongue snorer.

How to stop snoring

There are various ways to help prevent snoring. From aids to natural remedies, there are plenty of snoring solutions out there. Often, the way to prevent snoring depends on what type of snorer you or your partner are. So, to help you get a good night’s rest, let’s explore some effective ways to stop snoring.

1. Stop snoring aids

To get a good night’s sleep and stop your partner from snoring, here are some suggested snoring aids, depending on your partner’s type of snoring. If in doubt, the NHS suggests asking your pharmacist for help choosing the right device.

Nose snorers – Try nasal strips, nasal dilator or eyebright nasal spray, these help to widen the nasal passages, which helps to reduce the vibration that causes snoring.

Mouth breathers – Try chin-up strips, oral shield (snore guard) or eyebright mouth spray. These solutions prevent snoring in different ways. Chin straps close your mouth, oral shields block the passage of air and mouth spray relaxes your muscles. All of which can help to reduce the vibration that causes someone to snore.

Tongue snorers – Try a mandibular advancement device (MAD). The MAD holds your lower jaw and tongue forward creating more space to breathe, which can help to prevent snoring.

Palatal fluttered – Try chin-up strips or eyebright mouth spray. By holding your mouth closed or relaxing your muscles these solutions limit the vibration that causes snoring.

Multifactorial snorers – Try nasal strips, a nasal dilator, eyebright mouth and nasal spray, chin-up strips, an oral shield or a mandibular advancement device. Each device works differently, so multifactorial snorers should try to find a balance between effectiveness and comfort.

2. Elevate your head to stop snoring

Dr. Joseph Krainin, founder and president of Singular Sleep, LLC, adds: ‘People with sleep-related breathing difficulties may benefit from an adjustable bed to elevate the head of the bed. This alleviates the effect of gravity and may promote better respiratory function during the night.’ If you don’t have an adjustable bed frame, recreate this by layering your pillows.

3. DIY lifestyle changes

Many of the causes above can be solved with simple lifestyle changes. Exercising more to lose weight will alleviate pressure on the airways. Stopping smoking will prevent the irritation of nasal tissue, decrease swelling, and stop the build-up of catarrh. Also, try to avoid alcohol before bed. A unit or two long before bed won’t hurt, but if you consume too much too late, you’ll be snoring all night. Antihistamine tablets or a nasal spray, particularly during hay fever season, can make a big difference when pollen is ruining your nights, too.

You can learn more with our guide to how to stop snoring naturally.

4. Medical solutions to snoring

This might sound drastic, but some people suffer from severe bouts of snoring due to medical reasons, in which case surgery may be necessary to correct it. For example, those with enlarged adenoids at the back of the nose may need surgery to remove or reduce their size to improve airflow through their throat and nasal passages. For many, this would probably be the last resort.

How to stop someone snoring when they're asleep

If you’re fed up with sleepless nights, there are a few things you can try to stop someone from snoring when they’re already asleep:

Lie them on their side. The NHS says that if you sleep on your side, it avoids the squashed airways you could get if you sleep on your back. If your partner is likely to roll onto their back often, buy them a body pillow that will prevent this.
Place extra pillows under their head. Bupa recommends elevating the head with good-quality pillows.

So, are you ready to take control of your sleep? Try implementing some of these tips tonight and see the difference they can make. To help you further, we teamed up with the British Snoring & Sleep Apnoea Association to give you some tips on how to help prevent snoring. The infographic linked below explains why you or your partner might snore and how you can stop your partner from snoring so you can both get a better night’s sleep.