The most effective way to stop someone else from snoring depends on what’s causing it, but the simplest first move is repositioning them onto their side. Sleeping on the back lets gravity pull the tongue and soft tissues backward, narrowing the airway and vibrating with each breath. Beyond that, a combination of low-cost aids, lifestyle changes, and environmental tweaks can dramatically reduce or eliminate snoring for most people.
Roll Them Onto Their Side
Snoring is significantly worse on the back. Studies of non-apneic snorers show that snoring frequency roughly doubles in the supine position compared to side sleeping. In one study using a positional therapy device, snoring rates dropped from 36.7% of the night to 15.7% simply by keeping sleepers off their backs, a reduction of more than 50%.
A gentle nudge in the middle of the night works, but it’s not a sustainable strategy for either of you. For a more permanent fix, look into positional aids: a tennis ball sewn into the back of a sleep shirt, a wedge pillow, or a wearable device that vibrates when the sleeper rolls onto their back. These train the body to stay on its side without anyone needing to wake up and intervene.
Try Nasal Strips or Internal Dilators
If nasal congestion or narrow nasal passages contribute to the snoring, opening the airway at the nose can help. Both adhesive nasal strips (worn on the outside of the nose) and internal nasal dilators (small flexible inserts placed inside the nostrils) have been shown to reduce snoring time and improve sleep quality. Mechanical nasal dilation can increase airflow by up to 25%, comparable to the effect of a decongestant spray.
Internal dilators tend to work for a larger number of people and produce better perceived sleep quality, though both types significantly reduce snoring time. These are inexpensive, available without a prescription, and worth trying before more involved solutions. They’re especially useful when snoring worsens during allergy season or with a cold.
Address Alcohol and Evening Habits
Alcohol relaxes the muscles in the throat more than normal sleep does, making the airway more likely to collapse and vibrate. The body metabolizes roughly half a standard drink per hour, so two to three drinks can take four to six hours to fully clear the system. If the person you’re trying to help has a couple of glasses of wine at dinner and goes to bed at 10 p.m., the alcohol is still actively loosening their airway muscles.
The practical fix: finishing any alcohol at least four hours before bed, or earlier if they drink more than two servings. Sedating medications, including some antihistamines and sleep aids, can have a similar muscle-relaxing effect on the throat.
Optimize the Bedroom Environment
Dry air irritates nasal passages and can cause swelling that narrows the airway. The EPA recommends keeping indoor humidity between 30% and 50%, while other research suggests 40% to 60% is ideal. If your bedroom air is dry, particularly in winter with forced-air heating, a humidifier can reduce the nasal congestion that worsens snoring. Keep the unit clean to avoid introducing mold or bacteria into the air, which would make things worse.
Elevating the head of the bed by a few inches (using a wedge under the mattress, not just extra pillows that kink the neck) can also help by keeping the airway more open. Allergen control matters too: washing bedding weekly in hot water, keeping pets out of the bedroom, and vacuuming regularly can reduce the nasal inflammation that feeds nighttime congestion.
Consider a Mouthpiece
Mandibular advancement devices are custom or semi-custom mouthpieces that hold the lower jaw slightly forward during sleep. This pulls the tongue base away from the back of the throat and tightens the surrounding soft tissue. In clinical studies, these devices reduced breathing disruptions by an average of 72.5%, and about 73% of users reported noticeably less snoring and daytime tiredness.
Over-the-counter “boil and bite” versions are available for under $100, though a dentist-fitted device will be more comfortable and effective for long-term use. The adjustment period takes a week or two, and some people experience temporary jaw soreness or excess saliva at first. For someone whose snoring is moderate to loud and consistent, a mouthpiece is one of the most reliable non-surgical options.
Mouth and Throat Exercises
This one sounds unusual, but it works. A randomized trial found that three months of daily oropharyngeal exercises, exercises targeting the tongue, soft palate, and throat muscles, reduced snoring frequency by 36% and snoring intensity by 59%. The exercises strengthen the muscles that go slack during sleep and allow the airway to vibrate.
Common exercises include pressing the tongue flat against the roof of the mouth and sliding it backward, repeatedly pronouncing certain vowel sounds with exaggerated mouth movements, and inflating a balloon using circular breathing. Sessions take about eight to ten minutes a day. The catch is consistency: results took three months of daily practice in the clinical trial, and benefits likely fade if the exercises stop. This approach works best for someone motivated to participate in their own treatment.
When Snoring Signals Something Bigger
Not all snoring is harmless. If the person gasps, chokes, or briefly stops breathing during the night, those are hallmarks of obstructive sleep apnea. Other signs include excessive daytime sleepiness despite a full night in bed, morning headaches, and difficulty concentrating. Neck circumference is a physical clue: greater than 17 inches for men or 16 inches for women correlates with higher risk.
Sleep apnea is diagnosed through a sleep study, which can now often be done at home with a portable monitor. Severity is classified by how many times per hour breathing is disrupted: 5 to 15 times is mild, 15 to 30 is moderate, and above 30 is severe. If apnea is present, a CPAP machine (which delivers gentle air pressure through a mask) remains the gold standard treatment, and it eliminates snoring as a side benefit. Many of the strategies in this article, particularly positional therapy and mouthpieces, also work for mild to moderate apnea.
Protect Your Own Sleep in the Meantime
While you’re working on solutions for the snorer, you still need to sleep. Earplugs designed for sleeping typically reduce noise by 22 to 33 decibels. Silicone models that sit flush with the ear canal, rather than protruding, are comfortable for side sleepers and can cut snoring noise by roughly 25 to 27 decibels. That’s enough to take loud snoring down to a low murmur.
White noise machines or fan noise can also help by masking the irregular pattern of snoring, which is often more disruptive than steady background noise. If the snoring is severe and none of these adjustments help, sleeping in separate rooms is not a relationship failure. It’s a practical health decision that protects both people’s sleep quality while longer-term solutions are explored.