Mayo Clinic does not endorse companies or products. Advertising revenue supports our not-for-profit mission. This content does not have an English version. This content does not have an Arabic version. Diagnosis To diagnose your condition, your doctor will review your signs and symptoms, and your medical history. Continuous positive airway pressure CPAP To eliminate snoring and prevent sleep apnea, your doctor may recommend a device called a continuous positive airway pressure CPAP machine.
Request an Appointment at Mayo Clinic. Share on: Facebook Twitter. Show references Flint PW, et al. Sleep apnea and sleep disorders. Philadelphia, Pa. Accessed Sept. Rowley JA. Snoring in adults. Berry RB, et al. Obstructive sleep apnea in adults: Epidemiology and variants.
In: Sleep Medicine Pearls. Snoring and sleep apnea. Ferri FF. Sleep apnea. In: Ferri's Clinical Advisor Oral appliance therapy. American Academy of Dental Sleep Medicine. How much sleep do I need? Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Riggin EA. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic, Rochester, Minn. Being overweight or out of shape. Fatty tissue and poor muscle tone contribute to snoring. Exercising and losing weight can sometimes be all it takes to end your snoring.
Men have narrower air passages than women and are more likely to snore. A narrow throat, a cleft palate, enlarged adenoids, and other physical attributes that contribute to snoring are often hereditary. Again, while you have no control over your build or gender, you can control your snoring with the right lifestyle changes, bedtime routines, and throat exercises. Nasal and sinus problems. Blocked airways or a stuffy nose make inhalation difficult and create a vacuum in the throat, leading to snoring.
Alcohol, smoking, and medications. Alcohol intake, smoking, and certain medications, such as tranquilizers like lorazepam Ativan and diazepam Valium , can increase muscle relaxation leading to more snoring. Sleep posture. Sleeping flat on your back causes the flesh of your throat to relax and block the airway.
Changing your sleep position can help. Snoring could indicate sleep apnea , a serious sleep disorder where your breathing is briefly interrupted many times each night. Call your doctor if you or your sleep partner have noticed any of the following red flags:. Monitoring your snoring for patterns can often help you pinpoint the reasons why you snore, what makes it worse, and how to go about stopping it. To identify important patterns, it helps to keep a sleep diary or use a sleep tracking app.
If you have a sleep partner, they can help you fill it in. If you sleep alone, set up a camera to record yourself at night. There are so many bizarre anti-snoring devices available on the market today, with more being added all the time, that finding the right solution for your snoring can seem like a daunting task. Unfortunately, many of these devices are not backed up by research, or they work by simply keeping you awake at night.
There are, however, plenty of proven techniques that can help eliminate snoring. Not every remedy is right for every person, though, so putting a stop to your snoring may require patience, lifestyle changes, and a willingness to experiment with different solutions. Change your sleeping position. Elevating your head four inches may ease breathing and encourage your tongue and jaw to move forward. There are specifically designed pillows available to help prevent snoring by making sure your neck muscles are not crimped.
Sleep on your side instead of your back. Try attaching a tennis ball to the back of a pajama top or T-shirt you can sew a sock to the back of your top then put a tennis ball inside. If you roll over onto your back, the discomfort of the tennis ball will cause you to turn back onto your side.
Alternatively, wedge a pillow stuffed with tennis balls behind your back. After a while, sleeping on your side will become a habit and you can dispense with the tennis balls. Try an anti-snoring mouth appliance.
While a dentist-made appliance can be expensive, cheaper do-it-yourself kits are also available. Clear nasal passages. If you have a stuffy nose, rinse sinuses with saline before bed. Using a neti pot, nasal decongestant, or nasal strips can also help you breathe more easily while sleeping. If you have allergies, reduce dust mites and pet dander in your bedroom or use an allergy medication. Keep bedroom air moist. Dry air can irritate membranes in your nose and throat, so if swollen nasal tissues are the problem, a humidifier may help.
Lose weight. Losing even a little bit of weight can reduce fatty tissue in the back of the throat and decrease, or even stop, snoring. Quit smoking. If you smoke, your chances of snoring are high. Smoking irritates the membranes in the nose and throat which can block the airways and cause snoring.
While quitting is easier said than done , it can bring quick snoring relief. Avoid alcohol, sleeping pills, and sedatives because they relax the muscles in the throat and interfere with breathing. Be careful what you eat before bed. Research shows that eating large meals or consuming certain foods such as dairy or soymilk right before bedtime can make snoring worse.
There are also specific exercises you can do to strengthen the muscles in your throat. Studies show that by pronouncing certain vowel sounds and curling the tongue in specific ways, muscles in the upper respiratory tract are strengthened and therefore reduce snoring.
The following exercises can help:. Snoring can disrupt your sleep and that of your partner. But besides being annoying, it may indicate a serious health condition.
Seeing your doctor and trying one or more of the above treatment options can help you get your sleep under control. Approximately 1 in 2 people snore. If your snores are keeping you or your partner up at night, it's possible to find relief. Here's how to stop…. Snoring is something that 45 percent of adults do. Read more about simple at-home treatments and when to see your doctor about it. Researchers say children who snore regularly may experience gray matter loss in their brains that can lead to behavioral problems and learning….
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Health Conditions Discover Plan Connect. Medically reviewed by Elaine K. Luo, M. Remedies Coping We include products we think are useful for our readers. Why do people snore? Coping with snoring. Read this next. Medically reviewed by University of Illinois.
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