Sleeping next to someone who snores is one of the most common sleep disruptions, and there are real solutions on both sides of the problem: things you can do to block the noise, and things your partner can do to reduce it. Nearly one-third of U.S. adults now sleep in a separate bed or room from their partner, a trend the American Academy of Sleep Medicine calls “sleep divorce.” But before you get there, several strategies can help you stay in the same bed and still get a full night’s rest.
Sound Masking: White, Pink, and Brown Noise
The simplest first move is adding background noise to your bedroom. A sound machine or app doesn’t silence snoring, but it reduces the contrast between the quiet room and the sudden, jarring sound of a snore. That contrast is what wakes you up. Pink noise is particularly effective here because it emphasizes lower frequencies, which filter out the higher-pitched rumble of snoring better than pure white noise. White noise contains all frequencies at equal volume, so it works too, but many people find it harsher to listen to all night. Brown noise goes even deeper and can feel like a low hum or distant waterfall.
A bedside fan, a dedicated sound machine, or a smartphone app all work. The key is volume: loud enough to smooth over the snoring peaks, quiet enough that it doesn’t become its own problem. Start at a low volume and raise it gradually until snoring no longer jolts you awake.
Earbuds and Earplugs: What Works and What to Watch For
Foam earplugs are cheap, effective, and widely available. A good pair can reduce noise by 20 to 30 decibels, which is often enough to take the edge off moderate snoring. Wax or silicone earplugs mold to your ear and tend to stay in place better for side sleepers. The trade-off is comfort: any earplug can cause irritation or soreness if worn every night, especially if it doesn’t fit well.
Sleep-specific earbuds with active noise cancellation are a newer option, and some are designed with a slim profile for side sleeping. However, Cleveland Clinic sleep specialists flag two concerns. First, noise-canceling modes can block important sounds like smoke alarms, phone calls, or a child crying. Second, poorly fitting earbuds can press into the ear canal overnight and damage the skin. If you go this route, skip full noise-canceling mode and use earbuds that still let some ambient sound through.
Help Your Partner Sleep on Their Side
Snoring is almost always louder when someone sleeps on their back. In that position, gravity pulls the tongue and soft tissues backward, partially blocking the airway. Getting your partner onto their side can reduce or eliminate the noise entirely.
The classic trick is a tennis ball sewn into the back of a sleep shirt, which makes back-sleeping uncomfortable enough to trigger a roll. Positional therapy belts and wearable vibrating devices do the same thing more gently, buzzing when they detect back-sleeping. Anti-snoring pillows designed to encourage side sleeping have shown measurable results in clinical testing. One study found that a specially shaped pillow reduced the average intensity of snoring by 51% compared to a standard pillow, and significantly cut the total time spent snoring. A simple wedge pillow that elevates the head by 15 to 30 degrees can also help by keeping the airway more open.
Nasal Strips and Nasal Dilators
If your partner’s snoring comes from nasal congestion or narrow nasal passages, adhesive nasal strips (the kind that stick across the bridge of the nose) can help. They work by physically pulling the nostrils open, reducing the resistance air meets on the way in. In lab testing, nasal strips reduced resting airflow resistance meaningfully in people whose nasal passages responded to the outward pull, roughly 22 grams of force applied to the nasal walls.
Internal nasal dilators (small silicone or plastic inserts placed inside the nostrils) do the same job from the inside. Neither option will fix snoring caused by tissues vibrating in the throat, but for nose-based snoring they’re a low-cost, no-risk starting point. Your partner will know pretty quickly whether it helps.
Oral Appliances for the Snorer
When snoring originates in the throat, a mouthpiece worn during sleep can make a real difference. The most common type pushes the lower jaw slightly forward, which tightens the soft tissue at the back of the throat and keeps the airway open. In a randomized controlled trial, 68% of patients achieved a complete or partial response with this kind of device. A second type holds the tongue forward instead of the jaw; it worked for about 45% of patients in the same study. Both types reduced the number of breathing disruptions per hour by roughly half.
Custom-fitted versions from a dentist tend to work better and feel more comfortable than over-the-counter “boil and bite” options, though they cost significantly more. Your partner may need a few weeks to adjust to sleeping with a mouthpiece, and jaw soreness in the first week or two is normal.
CPAP Machines Are Quieter Than You Think
If your partner has been diagnosed with sleep apnea, a CPAP machine is the gold standard treatment. Many people assume these machines are loud, and older models could be. But current devices average about 30 decibels, roughly the volume of a soft whisper. The quietest models on the market now come in around 25 to 27 decibels. For comparison, a typical bedroom at night sits around 30 to 40 decibels. A well-fitted CPAP eliminates snoring almost completely, so the net effect on your sleep is usually a dramatic improvement, not a new noise problem.
The bigger hurdle is getting your partner to use it consistently. Mask discomfort, dry mouth, and a feeling of claustrophobia are common complaints in the first few weeks. Trying different mask styles (nasal pillows versus a full face mask, for example) often solves these issues.
Surgery: A Last Resort With Mixed Results
Surgical options exist for severe snoring that doesn’t respond to other treatments. The most common procedure removes excess tissue from the soft palate and throat to widen the airway. Long-term data, however, is sobering. In a follow-up study of patients roughly 20 years after surgery, only 52% were satisfied with the outcome. Nearly a third had gone on to use a CPAP machine anyway. Surgery can reduce snoring initially, but the tissue can stiffen or regrow over time, and the snoring often returns.
Sleeping Apart Isn’t a Failure
If nothing else works well enough, sleeping in separate rooms is a legitimate solution. According to a 2025 survey by the American Academy of Sleep Medicine, 31% of U.S. adults already do this. The rate is highest among 35- to 44-year-olds, where nearly 4 in 10 couples sleep apart. Sleep medicine specialist Dr. Seema Khosla, who helped interpret the survey results, put it plainly: a sleep divorce has more to do with mutual respect for each other’s sleep than with a troubled relationship.
The real damage to a relationship often comes from not making a change. Chronic sleep loss from a snoring partner erodes empathy, patience, and emotional regulation. If separate sleeping means you both wake up rested and kinder to each other, it’s doing more for your relationship than sharing a bed ever did. The key is having a direct conversation about it rather than letting resentment build. Frame it as a sleep solution, not a relationship verdict.
A Practical Order of Operations
Not every solution requires your partner’s buy-in, which matters if they’re resistant to acknowledging the problem. Here’s a reasonable sequence:
- Start with what you control: a sound machine, earplugs, or sleep earbuds on your side of the bed.
- Try positional changes: encourage side sleeping with a positional pillow or wedge, which requires minimal effort from your partner.
- Add nasal strips or a mouthpiece: these are inexpensive and reversible, and your partner can trial them for a week to see if they help.
- Get a sleep study: if snoring is loud, frequent, and accompanied by gasping or pauses in breathing, your partner likely has sleep apnea. A CPAP machine prescribed after a sleep study is the most effective single intervention.
- Consider separate sleeping spaces: if the above steps don’t get you both to restful sleep, a sleep divorce is a practical, increasingly common solution with no evidence of harm to relationships.
Snoring tends to worsen with age, weight gain, and alcohol use. Cutting back on evening alcohol and maintaining a healthy weight are two of the simplest ways your partner can reduce snoring over time, even without any devices or interventions.