Sleeping next to a snorer is one of the most common sleep complaints, and it’s more than just annoying. Snoring typically registers between 50 and 65 decibels, roughly the volume of a normal conversation, but it can spike to 80 or 90 decibels in severe cases, matching a vacuum cleaner. That’s enough to pull you out of deep sleep repeatedly throughout the night, even if you don’t fully wake up. The good news: a combination of sound masking, physical adjustments, and targeted interventions for the snorer can make a real difference.
Why This Matters for Your Health
Losing sleep to someone else’s snoring isn’t just a quality-of-life issue. Research on couples where one partner snores heavily shows that the non-snoring partner faces measurable health consequences: disrupted mood, impaired daytime performance, and increased stress that activates the body’s inflammatory response. One study found that wives whose husbands were at high risk of obstructive sleep apnea had 1.4 to 1.5 times higher odds of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of conditions including high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, and excess abdominal fat. When only the husband had a high snoring risk, both partners’ odds of metabolic syndrome jumped 2.8 to 4.4 times higher compared to couples without snoring problems.
In other words, your partner’s snoring is not something you should just “get used to.” Addressing it protects both of you.
Block the Noise With Earplugs
Earplugs are the simplest first line of defense. Foam earplugs offer the highest noise reduction ratings at 30 to 33 decibels, which is enough to bring moderate snoring (50 to 65 dB) down to a whisper. Silicone earplugs block 24 to 27 decibels, and wax earplugs block 22 to 25 decibels. For most snoring scenarios, foam is the best choice purely for noise reduction.
The catch with foam earplugs is comfort. They expand inside the ear canal, and some people find them irritating after a few hours. Silicone or wax options mold to the outer ear and feel less intrusive, though they let more sound through. If you need to stay somewhat aware of your surroundings (a baby monitor, an alarm), filtered or vented earplugs reduce noise by 15 to 25 decibels while keeping sounds more natural rather than completely muffled.
For the best seal with foam earplugs, roll them into a tight cylinder, pull the top of your ear upward with the opposite hand to straighten the ear canal, then insert and hold for 15 to 20 seconds while they expand.
Use Sound Masking Strategically
White noise machines and sleep sound apps work by raising the background noise level so the spikes of snoring don’t stand out as sharply. Pink noise is particularly effective for this. It emphasizes lower frequencies more than white noise, which reduces the gap between the quiet baseline and sudden loud sounds like snoring, door slams, or car horns. That means fewer of those jolts that pull you out of deep sleep.
Brown noise goes even deeper in frequency and can feel more soothing, but it’s less effective at masking the full range of snoring sounds, which include both low rumbles and higher-pitched vibrations. Pink noise hits the sweet spot for most people. Place the speaker or machine between you and the snorer, at roughly the same height as the bed, for the best coverage. Combining earplugs with a sound machine is often more effective than either alone, since the earplugs dampen the snoring while the sound machine fills in the remaining gaps.
Adjust the Snorer’s Sleep Position
Most snoring gets worse when sleeping on the back, because gravity pulls the tongue and soft tissues of the throat backward, partially blocking the airway. Encouraging the snorer to sleep on their side is one of the most effective low-cost interventions. The classic trick is sewing a tennis ball into a pocket on the back of a sleep shirt, which makes back sleeping uncomfortable enough that the person rolls over without waking up. Purpose-built positional sleep aids, like inflatable belts or wedge-shaped back attachments, accomplish the same thing more comfortably.
A wedge pillow is another option. Elevating the upper body by 30 to 45 degrees (most wedge pillows are 7 to 12 inches high at the thick end) uses gravity to keep the tongue and soft palate from falling toward the back of the throat. This works best for mild, position-related snoring. If the snorer is willing to try it, the combination of side sleeping on a slight incline often produces noticeable improvement on the first night.
Nasal Strips and Dilators
When snoring originates mostly from nasal congestion or narrow nasal passages, external nasal strips or internal nasal dilators can help. Both work by physically widening the nasal passages to improve airflow. Studies comparing internal dilators (small devices inserted into the nostrils) with external adhesive strips found that both significantly improved airflow compared to breathing without any aid.
External strips are easier to try since they just stick to the outside of the nose, but internal dilators tend to provide a stronger opening force. Neither will help much if the snoring comes primarily from the throat rather than the nose. A simple way to test: if the snorer can breathe quietly through their nose during the day but snores at night, the issue is more likely throat-related. If they’re consistently congested or breathe through their mouth, nasal aids are worth trying.
Oral Appliances for the Snorer
Mandibular advancement devices are custom-fitted mouthpieces that hold the lower jaw slightly forward during sleep, which opens the airway behind the tongue. These are fitted by a dentist and are one of the most effective non-surgical options for moderate snoring and mild to moderate sleep apnea. Across multiple clinical studies, these devices consistently reduced the severity of airway obstruction events. In some cases, the improvement was dramatic: one study showed a drop from roughly 33 events per hour to about 13, while another showed a reduction from 22.5 to 9.1.
Compared to CPAP machines (the pressurized mask that’s the gold standard for sleep apnea), oral appliances produce smaller reductions in airway obstruction events but comparable improvements in daytime symptoms and quality of life. Many people prefer them because they’re quieter, more portable, and don’t require a mask. Over-the-counter “boil and bite” versions exist, but custom-fitted devices from a dentist offer better results and fewer side effects like jaw soreness.
Know When Snoring Signals Something Bigger
Not all snoring is harmless. Obstructive sleep apnea, where the airway closes completely and breathing stops for seconds at a time, affects an estimated 30 million Americans and often goes undiagnosed. Clinicians screen for it using a set of eight risk factors: loud snoring, daytime tiredness, observed pauses in breathing, high blood pressure, elevated BMI, age over 50, a neck circumference greater than 16 inches (women) or 17 inches (men), and male sex.
If the snorer hits three or more of those markers, a sleep study is warranted. Pay particular attention to the breathing pauses. If you’ve watched your partner stop breathing, gasp, or choke during sleep, that’s the single strongest signal. Sleep apnea raises the risk of heart attack, stroke, and type 2 diabetes for the person who has it, and as the research shows, it harms the sleeping partner’s metabolic health too.
Practical Tips for Tonight
If you need to sleep next to a snorer right now and don’t have time for mouthpieces or wedge pillows, here’s what works immediately:
- Go to bed first. Falling asleep before the snoring starts makes it far easier for your brain to stay asleep through the noise. Even a 15 to 20 minute head start helps.
- Use foam earplugs plus a fan or sound app. The combination of physical noise blocking and ambient sound masking handles most moderate snoring.
- Nudge the snorer onto their side. A gentle push when the snoring starts is often enough. Most people shift position without fully waking.
- Keep the room cool and humid. Dry air worsens nasal congestion, which worsens snoring. A humidifier in the bedroom, especially during winter months, can reduce snoring intensity.
- Limit the snorer’s alcohol. Alcohol relaxes throat muscles more than normal sleep does, making snoring louder and more frequent. Even one or two drinks within three hours of bedtime can turn a mild snorer into a severe one.
If none of these strategies bring enough relief, sleeping in separate rooms is not a relationship failure. Sleep researchers sometimes call them “sleep divorces,” but couples who adopt this arrangement often report better relationship satisfaction because both partners are finally well-rested. The priority is that both of you get the sleep you need.