How to Stop Snoring: Causes, 10 Tips and When to See a GP (UK)

What causes snoring?

Snoring happens when relaxed tissues in your mouth, throat or nose vibrate as you breathe in your sleep. The NHS lists these common causes:

Snoring is very common. A 2024 review estimates that about 45% of adults snore now and then and 25% snore regularly, more often men, with a rise in women after the menopause. See perimenopause symptoms.

10 ways to stop snoring

1. Sleep on your side. A body pillow, a bed wedge or a tennis ball sewn into the back of a top can stop you rolling over. See the best sleeping position for snoring.
2. Lose weight if you’re overweight. Short sleep can make that harder: see sleep and weight loss.
3. Cut back on alcohol, especially in the 3 to 4 hours before bed.
4. Stop smoking.
5. Avoid sleeping pills unless prescribed.
6. Clear a blocked nose with a steamy shower, nasal strips or a short course of decongestant from a pharmacist.
7. Raise the head of your bed slightly.
8. Keep regular sleep times. Being overtired can make snoring worse. See how to sleep better.
9. Stay hydrated through the day.
10. Try a mouthpiece if lifestyle changes don’t work (see below).

How to stop snoring (for men)

Men snore more than women, and they are more likely to have sleep apnoea too. In a large US study of 602 working adults aged 30 to 60, 24% of men and 9% of women had at least 5 breathing pauses or shallow breaths an hour in their sleep. Three things explain a lot of the gap.

• Anatomy. In a Harvard imaging study, men had a longer airway in the throat and a larger soft palate than women. A computer model built from those scans showed the male airway was more collapsible, purely because of its shape.
• Weight and neck size. The NHS lists being overweight as a cause of snoring, and a large neck as a risk factor for sleep apnoea.
• Alcohol. Drink relaxes the throat muscles. A 2020 review of 13 sleep lab studies found that alcohol was linked with worse snoring and more breathing pauses in people prone to snoring and sleep apnoea.

What to do

1. Train yourself to sleep on your side. Back sleeping lets the tongue fall back. A tennis ball in the back of a T-shirt is the cheapest positional aid there is.
2. Work on your weight if you’re carrying extra, especially around the neck and middle. The NHS lists being overweight as one of the main causes of snoring.
3. Make the last drink earlier. Have alcohol-free evenings, and stop drinking a few hours before bed. See when to stop drinking before bed.
4. Stop smoking. The NHS offers free help to quit.
5. Ask your partner what they hear, or record yourself. Steady snoring is one thing; pauses followed by gasps are another (see snoring or sleep apnoea).

Late nights, stress and an extra drink often travel together. Our Movember guide to stress in men covers what stress does to sleep and what helps.

Stop snoring aids: what works

The right aid depends on where the noise comes from. Start with the cause, then pick the aid.

Match the aid to the cause

Every aid compared

If your mouth falls open at night, work out why before buying anything: see mouth breathing at night.

Does mouth tape help with snoring?

The evidence is thin and mixed. A 2025 systematic review found only 10 small studies of mouth taping, with 213 people in total. Two showed improvements in sleep apnoea measures, the others showed no difference, and the authors warned of a potentially serious risk of harm, including suffocation if the nose is blocked.

Don’t tape your mouth if:

• you might have sleep apnoea (loud snoring with pauses, gasping or choking, or feeling very sleepy in the day)
• your nose is blocked from a cold, hay fever or anything else
• you’ve been drinking alcohol or taken anything that makes you drowsy
• it’s for a child: never tape a child’s mouth

For the research, the safety checks and safer alternatives, see our full guide to mouth taping for snoring.

Snoring or sleep apnoea?

NICE tells doctors to assess for sleep apnoea when someone has 2 or more features such as snoring, witnessed pauses in breathing, unrefreshing sleep, waking headaches, unexplained sleepiness, choking during sleep or waking to pee. Sleep apnoea can also affect whether you can drive: our sleep apnoea guide explains the tests, treatment and when to tell the DVLA.

If you feel tired all the time, see why am I always tired?

If your partner snores

• Earplugs are the simplest fix, as the NHS suggests.
• Go to sleep first, before the snoring starts.
• Try white noise or a fan. See brown noise vs white noise for which masks snoring best.
• Talk about it kindly and suggest the tips above together.
• Sleep apart sometimes if you need to. It’s more common than you’d think. See sleep divorce.

Earplugs for your partner

When choosing earplugs to block snoring, look at:

• The SNR (single number rating) on the pack. It shows how much sound a plug blocks in lab tests. Higher blocks more, but a good fit matters more than the number.
• Comfort for how you sleep. If you sleep on your side, pick a soft, low-profile plug that doesn’t press when your ear is on the pillow.
• Fit. Foam plugs need rolling and inserting properly to work well. Try a couple of sizes or shapes before settling on one.

Our guide to earplugs for sleeping compares the types and covers whether they’re safe to wear every night.

Broken nights add up. A calm wind-down helps you drop off before the snoring starts. Our Magnesium Glycinate Sleep Complex is a bedtime drink, and magnesium contributes to a reduction of tiredness and fatigue. Our Sleep CBD Oil pairs broad spectrum CBD with passion flower for evenings. The FSA’s 10mg a day figure is precautionary advice rather than a legal limit, set while longer-term safety research continues. At Evopure we think it is a very cautious figure, and many adults use more. If you go above it, increase slowly, and check with your GP or pharmacist first if you take any medication. Neither product is a treatment for snoring, and both are for adults only. See how to fall asleep fast and best tea for sleep.

Snoring during pregnancy

Snoring is common in pregnancy, and it becomes more common as pregnancy goes on. In a Swedish study of pregnant women, 7.9% snored in the first trimester, rising to 21.2% in the third. Those who snored were more likely to have swelling (oedema) in late pregnancy.

What it means is less clear. A US study of 1,719 women found that snoring which started during pregnancy was linked with high blood pressure in pregnancy and pre-eclampsia, while the Swedish study found no link between snoring and how the pregnancy turned out. NICE also tells doctors that sleep apnoea is more common in people who are overweight in pregnancy.

• Mention it to your midwife, especially if the snoring is new and loud, if you stop breathing or gasp in your sleep, if you feel very sleepy in the day, or if you’ve been told your blood pressure is high.
• Get swelling checked straight away. The NHS says sudden swelling of the face, hands or feet, a severe headache, vision problems or pain below the ribs can be signs of pre-eclampsia. Call your maternity unit, or 111 if you can’t reach them.
• Check before using anything, including decongestant sprays: ask your midwife or pharmacist first. Don’t tape your mouth.
• Sleep on your side if you can. See the best sleeping position for pregnancy tips.

We don’t recommend our products during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

When to see a GP

The NHS advises seeing a GP if lifestyle changes haven’t helped, snoring is affecting your life or your partner’s, or you feel very sleepy in the day, your breathing stops and starts, or you gasp or choke in your sleep. These can be signs of sleep apnoea, which needs treatment. Your GP may look in your mouth and nose, and can refer you to a specialist if the cause isn’t clear.

Related guides

• See which position suits you best in our guide to the best sleeping position.
• Loud snoring can leave you waking up tired.
• Teeth grinding (bruxism).
• Waking up with a headache, a possible sign of sleep apnoea.
• How to stop sleep talking.
• Using white noise to mask a partner’s snoring.
• If your mouth falls open at night, see mouth breathing at night for the causes and how to stop it.
• A nose that is always blocked at night can be down to dust mites in your bedding; see dust mite allergy and how to reduce dust mites.
• If you’re the one lying awake, see our guide to earplugs for sleeping, including the best types for side sleepers.
• Sharing a bed with a snorer and a light sleeper yourself? See light sleeper tips.
• Snoring plus frequent night-time peeing can point to sleep apnoea; see waking up to pee at night.
• Why your cough gets worse when you lie down.
• Feeling on edge the morning after a few drinks? See hangxiety.
• Snoring with drenched sheets can point to sleep apnoea; see night sweats: causes and when to worry.
• Snoring with your mouth open can leave you waking with a dry, scratchy throat: see our guide to sore throat remedies for what eases it.
• Why loud snoring and sleep apnoea matter for the brain.
• Our Movember guide to men’s sleep, stress and health checks.
• Earplugs and a white noise machine make thoughtful sleep gifts for the partner of a snorer.