How to Stop Snoring: Causes & Remedies

Snoring happens when relaxed tissue in your throat and nose vibrates as air squeezes through a narrowed airway while you sleep. [1] You reduce it by widening that airway, whether that means changing your sleep position, treating congestion, cutting back on alcohol, or reaching for the right device. Knowing which fixes are evidence-based and which signs point to something more serious can save you from guessing your way through remedies that were never going to work for your specific cause.

Nearly half of adults snore at least occasionally, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. [4] So if you snore or share a bed with someone who does, it's nothing unusual. Most of that snoring can be reduced, often with fixes that are far simpler than the gadget aisle suggests.

The trickier part is that snoring isn't only a noise problem. Loud, disruptive snoring can also be the clearest outward sign of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition that requires a doctor's care rather than a home remedy.

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1. What Is Snoring?

Snoring is the sound of soft tissues, the soft palate, uvula, tongue base, and throat walls, vibrating as air squeezes past a partly narrowed airway while you sleep. [4] The louder the snoring, the more crowded or collapsed the airway usually is.

Your throat muscles relax as you fall asleep, which makes the airway floppier than it is during the day. Gravity adds to the narrowing, especially if you're lying on your back, which is why snoring is often loudest in that position at night. [1]

Light, occasional snoring is common and usually harmless on its own. Loud snoring that's interrupted by gasps, snorts, or silent pauses is a different story, and we walk through exactly what that means later in this piece.

"Your airway can collapse or close off for 10 seconds or more at a time, and that can happen dozens, even hundreds of times a night."

— Nicole Haut, Respiratory Therapist, Sleeplay

Snoring is a common sign of sleep apnea, but it isn't a required one. If you don't snore loudly but still wake up feeling exhausted, our breakdown of sleep apnea without snoring explains why the condition can hide even when the airway noise doesn't.

2. What Causes Snoring?

Snoring has several overlapping causes, and most people who snore have more than one at work at once.

Nasal congestion and anatomy

Chronic congestion, allergies, a deviated septum, or nasal polyps all narrow your airflow, and a blocked nose pushes you toward breathing through your mouth, which tends to make snoring louder. Long-term data shows this relationship runs both ways: congestion contributes to snoring, and snoring itself is linked to more nasal symptoms over time. [10]

Excess weight

Extra tissue around your neck and throat crowds the airway. People who are overweight or living with obesity are more likely to snore and more likely to develop sleep apnea. [3]

Sleep position

Snoring is usually loudest and most frequent when you're on your back, because gravity lets your tongue and soft palate fall backward into the airway. [1]

Alcohol, sedatives, and smoking

Alcohol and sedatives over-relax your throat muscles, and smoking irritates and inflames the airway. All three make snoring worse. [3]

Age and sex

Snoring becomes more common as you get older, since airway muscle tone naturally drops with age. Men snore more often than premenopausal women, though that gap narrows after menopause. [4]

"When you sleep on your back, gravity pulls your tongue and throat muscles backward, which can narrow or block your airways. That is why back sleeping often makes snoring and sleep apnea worse."

— Lily Perez, Respiratory Therapist, Sleeplay

Obstructive sleep apnea

When your airway doesn't just narrow but repeatedly collapses, snoring becomes a symptom of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). It's the cause most worth ruling out, and section 7 below covers exactly how. [5]

"Obstructive sleep apnea, or OSA, is the most common. It happens when the muscles in your throat relax too much, and your airway gets physically blocked."

— Gabriel, Sleep Health Educator, Sleeplay

A deviated septum is one of the more overlooked anatomical culprits behind both loud snoring and sleep apnea, and our guide to deviated septum and sleep apnea walks through how to tell if yours needs attention.

Carrying extra weight compounds nearly every cause on this list, which is why our article connecting sleep apnea and weight loss is worth a look as well, if that's part of your picture.

3. Find Your Snoring Type

Your snoring type points directly to the fix that's most likely to work, and you can usually narrow it down with a couple of simple self-checks.

Snoring type	Telltale sign	Likely cause	What tends to help
Nasal	Worse with a cold or allergies; quieter when you breathe through a clear nose	Congestion, deviated septum	Treat congestion, nasal strips as an add-on, see an ENT
Mouth	Wake with a dry mouth; snore with the mouth open	Mouth breathing, habit, congestion	Clear the nose, chin strap, and nasal-breathing retraining
Tongue	Snore mainly on your back; worse after alcohol	Tongue base falling back, relaxed muscles	Side sleeping, oral appliance, skip late alcohol
Positional	Snore only or mostly on your back	Gravity narrowing the airway when supine	Side sleeping, positional aids

Mouth-closed test: If your snoring eases when you hold your mouth shut for a few breaths, it points to mouth-based snoring.
Nose-pinch test: If breathing feels difficult through one nostril when you pinch the other closed, suspect a nasal or septum issue.

These are informal self-checks, not a diagnosis. Use them as a starting point for the remedies and devices below, not a substitute for a doctor's exam.

4. Snoring Remedies: Lifestyle Changes That Work

The remedies with the strongest evidence and the lowest cost are usually the ones people try last: adjusting how you sleep and cutting back on a few specific habits.

Sleep on your side: if your snoring is worse on your back, switching to your side is a low-risk first step, though it won't fully resolve snoring for everyone. A positional aid like the CPAPology Sleep Noodle can help train you to stay off your back through the night.
Lose excess weight: for people who are overweight, losing weight reduces the throat tissue that contributes to snoring and lowers your risk of sleep apnea.
Limit alcohol before bed: avoid alcohol for at least two hours before sleep, since it over-relaxes throat tissue right when you need it to stay firm.
Treat nasal congestion: saline rinses, a prescription steroid spray for allergies, or correcting a deviated septum all reduce the mouth breathing that drives snoring. [10]
Quit smoking and get enough sleep: both reduce airway irritation and the muscle over-relaxation that makes snoring worse.

Try tonight: sleep on your side, raise the head of your bed slightly, skip alcohol in the evening, and clear your nose before bed.

"On the flip side, side sleeping keeps your airway more open and stable. Studies show that nearly half of people with sleep apnea experience far fewer breathing interruptions just by turning onto their side."

— Lily Perez, Respiratory Therapist, Sleeplay

That claim aligns with a 2015 study in Scientific Reports, which found that positional therapy nearly halved breathing interruptions in patients whose sleep apnea was primarily triggered by lying on their back. [11]

If you want a deeper dive into which sleep position works best for your specific case, our guide on the best sleep position for sleep apnea breaks it down further. Strengthening the muscles around your airway can help too, and our roundup of the best exercises for sleep apnea patients is a good next stop if muscle tone and weight are part of your situation.

5. Anti-Snoring Devices: What Works and What Is Hyped

Some anti-snoring devices are backed by real evidence, and some are mostly hype. Here's the honest breakdown, device by device.

Device	How it works	What the evidence says	Best for
Oral appliance (MAD)	Holds the lower jaw forward to open the airway	Recommended by sleep guidelines for snoring and mild OSA; fit by a dentist	Snorers, people who cannot tolerate CPAP
CPAP	Air pressure splints the airway open	Most reliable; eliminates snoring when it is driven by sleep apnea	Diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea
Positional aids	Keep you off your back	Helps people whose snoring is position-dependent (small studies)	Back-sleepers
Daytime tongue trainer (eXciteOSA)	Stimulates tongue muscles in a daytime session	FDA-cleared for snoring and mild OSA	Mild cases, a daytime routine
Chin strap	Keeps the mouth closed	Adjunct for mouth-leak; limited as a standalone fix	Mouth-droppers, often with a nasal mask
Nasal strips / dilators	Open the nasal passages	Weak, mixed evidence; not a treatment for OSA	Mild congestion-related snoring, add-on only
Mouth tape	Holds the lips closed	Not supported for general use; carries a safety risk	Caution: rule out OSA first

Oral appliances and daytime trainers (best-supported)

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Custom oral appliances, known as mandibular advancement devices (MAD), move your lower jaw forward to keep the airway open. Sleep-medicine guidelines recommend them for simple snoring and for OSA in people who can't tolerate CPAP. [6]

Because loud snoring can mask sleep apnea, a sleep physician should confirm what you're dealing with before a dentist fits you for a custom, adjustable device.

Two adjustable options worth considering are the myTAP Oral Appliance and the SmartGuard Anti-Snore Device, both mandibular advancement devices you can start with at home once anything more serious has been ruled out.

Daytime tongue stimulation is a newer option. The eXciteOSA device is FDA-cleared for snoring and mild OSA, and it works differently from anything worn overnight: you use it for about 20 minutes a day while awake, and in clinical trials, roughly 90% of users reported quieter snoring. Sleeplay carries the eXciteOSA Daytime Therapy Device as an FSA- and HSA-eligible option for people who'd rather not wear anything to bed.

"Mandibular advancement devices are oral appliances that look a lot like sports mouthguards. They work by gently pushing your lower jaw forward, helping your airway open while you sleep. These are best for side sleepers, snorers, and those with jaw-related airway issues."

"Tongue retaining devices work a little differently. They use gentle suction to keep your tongue from falling back and blocking your airways. It is worth considering for snoring and even mild sleep apnea."

— Daniel, CPAP Specialist, Sleeplay

Chin straps and nasal strips (adjuncts, not cures)

A chin strap keeps your mouth closed if you tend to leak air or breathe through your mouth, and it's often paired with a nasal mask. It's useful as a helper, not a fix on its own. The ResMed Premium Sullivan Chinstrap is a straightforward option if that's your main issue.

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Nasal strips and dilators may help if congestion is behind your snoring, and some people simply sleep more comfortably wearing them. The strongest evidence available is underwhelming, though: a 2026 meta-analysis found no significant improvement over a control group. [12]

Nasal strips and dilators aren't a treatment for OSA and are best treated as a possible add-on for mild, congestion-related snoring rather than a fix on their own. The RemSleep Advanced Nasal Strips are a low-commitment option if you want to try one anyway.

Mouth tape (the viral one, handle with care)

Mouth taping has gone viral, but the science behind it is thin. A 2025 systematic review pooling data from 213 patients across all available studies concluded that current evidence doesn't support mouth taping for sleep-disordered breathing in the general population. [8] A few small studies did report less snoring in narrower groups, specifically mouth-breathers with mild apnea, but the results are mixed, and the studies themselves are tiny. [9]

So, treat mouth taping as an unproven trend rather than a recommended fix, and don't put much weight on any single small study.

Before you try mouth tape: skip it if you have nasal congestion, a blocked nose, or possible sleep apnea, meaning loud snoring with gasping or pauses. Sealing your mouth shut can be dangerous if you need to breathe through it to recover from a pause in breathing. Rule out sleep apnea with a clinician first before trying mouth taping.

If you've ruled out OSA and confirmed you're a nasal breather, Hush Strips Mouth Tape is one option on the market, though it should never be treated as a cure for snoring.

Mouth breathers dealing with mask leaks might find more relief in our roundup of the top 5 best CPAP chinstraps, and if CPAP itself feels like the wrong fit, our CPAP alternatives collection rounds up the other options.

For the full shoppable range of devices covered in this section, browse Sleeplay's anti-snoring devices collection.

6. Medical Treatments for Snoring

When lifestyle changes and devices don't move the needle, a handful of medical options are worth discussing with a specialist, though none of them replace a diagnosis.

CPAP: When snoring is caused by obstructive sleep apnea, CPAP is the most reliable treatment available. It keeps your airway open all night, ending both the snoring and the breathing pauses that come with it. [7] It's prescribed after a diagnosis of sleep apnea, so the first step is an evaluation, not buying a machine.
Custom oral appliances: fit by a dentist, as covered above, for snoring and for CPAP-intolerant OSA.
Procedures: radiofrequency ablation, palate or uvula surgery (UPPP), septoplasty for a deviated septum, and hypoglossal nerve stimulation for select OSA patients. These are options a specialist considers once conservative steps haven't worked. [2]
Treating chronic allergies or sinus disease: managing these conditions medically can reduce congestion-driven snoring associated with them.

"Especially if you prefer a nasal mask but you tend to breathe through your mouth while sleeping, a chin strap can help keep that mouth closed very gently. If the mouth breathing is impacting your comfort, your quality of life, your sleep, you might want to also consider speaking to an ENT physician about this."

If surgery comes up in that conversation, our guide to sleep apnea surgery walks through what to expect and how to know if it's the right call.

And if you're weighing CPAP against everything else on this list, our breakdown of whether CPAP therapy actually stops snoring is worth reading before you commit to a machine.

7. Snoring vs. Sleep Apnea: When to See a Doctor

Loud snoring broken up by silent pauses, gasping, or choking is the clearest sign that snoring has crossed over into obstructive sleep apnea territory, and it's worth a doctor's attention. [5]

Other red flags include breathing pauses witnessed by others, waking up unrefreshed, morning headaches, and feeling sleepy during the day even after a full night in bed.

Untreated OSA raises your risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, and stroke, which is why snoring gets called the cheap smoke alarm: loud and annoying, but pointing at something worth paying attention to. [5]

If several of those red flags apply to your situation, a home sleep test ordered by a clinician is an easy first step. It records your breathing and oxygen levels overnight in your own bed and gives your doctor what they need to rule out or rule in sleep apnea. Sleeplay's WatchPAT One Home Sleep Test is one FSA- and HSA-eligible option that makes that first step easy to take from home.

"Loud snoring, pauses in breathing usually noticed by someone else, gasping or choking sounds. If you said yes to three or more, it is time to look into getting tested."

— Gabriel, Sleep Health Educator, Sleeplay (Source video: You Might Have Sleep Apnea and Not Know It)

For a full walkthrough of the testing process, check out our guide to at-home sleep apnea testing. And if your results come back on the milder end, our explainer on mild sleep apnea covers what that actually means for treatment.

8. How to Help a Partner Who Snores

If you're the one lying awake next to a snorer, a few practical, non-nagging moves can help you both sleep better while the real cause is addressed.

Encourage side sleeping: a body pillow or positional aid can make staying off the back easier for them.
Keep the bedroom humidified: dry air makes nasal congestion and the snoring that comes with it worse.
Suggest a check-up if you've witnessed pauses: that detail matters more to a doctor than almost anything else you can report.
Protect your own sleep in the meantime: earplugs or white noise can buy you both some peace while your partner works on the cause.

Framing this as a health conversation instead of a complaint tends to land better, especially since witnessed pauses are exactly the detail a doctor needs to make sense of what's happening. Our guide on how to sleep with a snoring partner goes deeper into both sides of this, from immediate coping strategies to starting that conversation.

FAQs

Why am I snoring so badly all of a sudden?

New or louder snoring often traces to a recent change: nasal congestion or allergies, weight gain, more alcohol before bed, a new medication that relaxes the throat, or sleeping on your back. If it started suddenly and comes with gasping or daytime tiredness, have it checked for sleep apnea.

Can snoring be cured naturally?

It can often be reduced significantly. Side sleeping, losing excess weight, skipping late alcohol, and clearing nasal congestion address the most common causes. Natural steps work best for simple snoring; snoring caused by sleep apnea needs medical treatment.

What is the fastest way to stop snoring tonight?

Sleep on your side, raise the head of the bed slightly, skip alcohol in the evening, and clear your nose before bed. These will not fix every cause, but they are the highest-odds same-night adjustments you can make.

Do nasal strips and mouth tape actually work?

Nasal strips may help mild, congestion-related snoring, but the evidence is weak and they do not treat sleep apnea. Mouth tape is not well-supported by current evidence and can be unsafe if you have nasal congestion or undiagnosed sleep apnea. Rule out apnea with a clinician before trying either.

Does snoring always mean sleep apnea?

No. Plenty of people snore without apnea. But loud snoring interrupted by gasping, choking, or silent pauses is a classic sign of apnea and should be evaluated by a clinician.

Can CPAP stop snoring?

Yes, when the snoring is driven by obstructive sleep apnea. CPAP keeps the airway open and eliminates snoring and breathing pauses. It is prescribed after a sleep evaluation, not bought to silence simple snoring.

How do I get my partner to stop snoring?

Encourage side sleeping, help clear nasal congestion, and gently suggest a doctor visit if you have witnessed them stop breathing. Witnessed pauses in breathing are an important clue for diagnosis.

When should I see a doctor about snoring?

See a clinician if your snoring is loud and chronic, comes with gasping or witnessed pauses, or leaves you tired, foggy, or waking with headaches. A home sleep test can rule sleep apnea in or out.

References

Mayo Clinic. "Snoring: Symptoms and causes." https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/snoring/symptoms-causes/syc-20377694
Mayo Clinic. "Snoring: Diagnosis and treatment." https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/snoring/diagnosis-treatment/drc-20377701
Cleveland Clinic. "Snoring: Causes and Complications." https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15580-snoring
Johns Hopkins Medicine. "Why Do People Snore? Answers for Better Health." https://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/health/wellness-and-prevention/why-do-people-snore-answers-for-better-health
Mayo Clinic. "Obstructive sleep apnea: Symptoms and causes." https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/obstructive-sleep-apnea/symptoms-causes/syc-20352090
Ramar K, et al. "Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of OSA and Snoring with Oral Appliance Therapy: An Update for 2015." J Clin Sleep Med. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26094920/
AASM Sleep Education. "Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)." https://sleepeducation.org/patients/cpap/
Rhee J, et al. "Safety and efficacy of mouth taping in sleep-disordered breathing: a systematic review." PLOS One, 2025. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12094774/
Lee YC, et al. "The Impact of Mouth-Taping in Mouth-Breathers with Mild OSA: A Preliminary Study." Healthcare, 2022. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9498537/
Varendh M, et al. "Nasal symptoms increase the risk of snoring and snoring increases the risk of nasal symptoms." Sleep Breath, 2021. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC8590672/
Yingjuan M, et al. "Treatment of snoring with positional therapy in positional OSA syndrome." Sci Rep, 2015. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4676069/
Alotaibi S, et al. "Clinical Effectiveness of Nasal Dilators in Sleep-Disordered Breathing: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis." Cureus, 2026. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41487318/