Snoring: Causes and What Actually Helps

Snoring is the sound of air struggling through a partly narrowed airway, and almost everyone does it from time to time. For some people it is a nightly event, keeping partners awake and turning the bedroom into a battleground. The good news is that many causes are fixable with simple changes, and understanding why you snore is the first step to quieting the night.

Why we snore

When you sleep, the muscles of the throat and tongue relax, and in some people the airway narrows enough that breathing vibrates the soft tissues. Snoring gets louder when the narrowing is worse, and it is influenced by weight around the neck, sleeping position, nasal congestion, alcohol and age. It is worth remembering that snoring is not always harmless; in some people it is a sign that breathing is being interrupted, which is a different and more serious matter.

Position and pillows

Sleeping on your back is the classic snoring position because gravity lets the tongue fall backwards into the airway. Side sleeping keeps the airway more open, and many people improve dramatically with nothing more than a change in position. A firmer pillow or a slightly raised head can help too, and a tennis ball taped to the back of a pyjama top is the low-tech way to stop yourself rolling over.

Weight and lifestyle

Carrying extra weight, particularly around the neck, narrows the airway from outside, so even a modest loss of five to ten percent of body weight can noticeably quieten snoring. Alcohol before bed relaxes the throat muscles further and makes snoring louder, and smoking irritates the airway and causes swelling, so cutting back on both tends to help. Sedatives and some sleep medicines do the same, which is one reason they are best used sparingly, as our article on sleep medicines FAQs discusses.

When a blocked nose is to blame

Snoring often worsens when you have a cold or allergies, because breathing through a narrowed nose makes you draw air more forcefully through the throat. Saline rinses, a humidifier or a strip that opens the nasal passages can help during those phases. If congestion is constant rather than seasonal, an allergy assessment might get to the root of it.

When snoring points to something more

The line between snoring and sleep apnoea matters. If a partner reports pauses in breathing followed by gasps or choking, or if you wake unrefreshed, battle daytime sleepiness and have morning headaches, this is more than noise, and it deserves a GP assessment. Our article on sleep apnoea symptoms explains how to tell them apart and what a diagnosis involves.

A practical checklist

• Sleep on your side, with a pillow that supports your neck without tilting your head too far
• Aim for a steady sleep schedule so you avoid the deep, alcohol-affected sleep that makes snoring worst
• Keep alcohol to earlier in the evening and skip the nightcap
• If you wake with a dry mouth, it is a sign of mouth breathing; a chin strap or mouth tape, used carefully, can help some people
• Lose weight gradually if you are carrying extra around the neck

Snoring that bothers no one but you is still worth fixing, and the foundations that reduce it overlap with the habits in our sleep hygiene guide. If tiredness is also an issue, the connection between poor sleep and mood in our article on sleep and mental health is worth a read while you work on the noise itself.