Sharing a bed with someone who snores is one of the most common sleep disruptions, and roughly 1 in 5 couples already sleep apart because of it. But separate bedrooms aren’t your only option. A combination of sound masking, positional changes, environmental tweaks, and addressing the root cause of the snoring can make a real difference in how much sleep you actually get.
Use Sound to Your Advantage
Your brain doesn’t wake you up because of noise alone. It wakes you up because of the contrast between silence and a sudden sound, like a snore breaking through a quiet room. Sound machines work by shrinking that gap. Pink noise is particularly effective because it emphasizes lower frequencies, creating a deep, even backdrop that filters out the higher-pitched, jarring quality of snoring. It smooths over those spikes in volume that pull you out of deep sleep.
White noise contains all audible frequencies in equal parts, so it sounds more like static. Brown noise goes even deeper, with a bass-heavy rumble. All three can help, but pink noise specifically reduces the difference between the background hum and loud intrusions like snoring, which helps you both fall asleep faster and stay in deeper sleep longer. A bedside sound machine or even a phone app set to pink noise is one of the simplest first steps you can try tonight.
Earplugs are the other obvious tool. Foam earplugs typically block 20 to 30 decibels, which is enough to take the edge off moderate snoring but won’t eliminate loud snoring entirely. Silicone or wax earplugs tend to seal better. Some people combine earplugs with a sound machine for a layered effect.
Change Your Partner’s Sleep Position
Snoring is almost always worse when someone sleeps on their back. In that position, gravity pulls the tongue and soft tissue toward the back of the throat, partially blocking the airway. Rolling your partner onto their side can reduce or even eliminate the noise. The challenge is keeping them there.
A body pillow placed behind your partner’s back makes it harder for them to roll over. The old tennis ball trick (taping one to the back of a shirt) works on the same principle: it creates enough discomfort to discourage back sleeping without fully waking them. Some people sew a pocket into the back of a sleep shirt for this purpose.
Elevating the head also helps. A wedge pillow angled at about 45 degrees keeps the upper body raised enough to reduce airway compression. This is more effective than simply stacking regular pillows, which tend to bend the neck forward and can actually make snoring worse by crimping the airway.
Adjust the Bedroom Environment
Dry air irritates the throat and nasal passages, which increases snoring. Johns Hopkins Medicine recommends keeping indoor humidity between 30% and 55%. When humidity drops below that range, you’re more likely to deal with dry eyes, sinus irritation, and throat dryness, all of which contribute to noisier breathing at night. A simple bedroom humidifier, especially during winter when heating systems dry out the air, can make a noticeable difference.
Allergens play a role too. Dust mites in pillows and bedding trigger nasal congestion that forces mouth breathing, which worsens snoring. Washing sheets in hot water weekly, using allergen-proof pillow covers, and keeping pets out of the bedroom are practical steps that reduce overnight congestion.
Over-the-Counter Devices That Help
Nasal strips and internal nasal dilators both work by physically widening the nasal passages, but they’re not equally effective. External adhesive strips (like Breathe Right) improve nasal airflow by roughly 6% to 17%. Internal nasal dilators, small devices you insert into the nostrils, perform significantly better. In people with known nasal obstruction, internal dilators increased airflow by 110%, compared to 54% for external strips. One type of internal dilator stent improved airflow by 3.4 times over the external strip.
These devices work best when snoring originates from nasal congestion or a narrow nasal valve. If the snoring comes from the throat (the soft palate or tongue base), nasal devices won’t do much. You can usually tell the difference: nasal snoring tends to sound higher-pitched and breathy, while throat snoring produces that deep, rattling vibration.
Mandibular advancement devices, which look like sports mouthguards and push the lower jaw slightly forward, target throat-based snoring. Over-the-counter versions are available, though custom-fitted ones from a dentist tend to be more comfortable for long-term use.
Lifestyle Changes That Reduce Snoring
Alcohol is one of the biggest snoring triggers. It relaxes the muscles in the throat more than normal sleep does, causing the airway to narrow. Timing matters: if your partner drinks, finishing that last drink at least three hours before bed gives the body enough time to metabolize the alcohol so it doesn’t interfere as heavily with airway tone during sleep. A nightcap right before bed is the worst-case scenario for snoring.
Excess weight, particularly around the neck, directly increases snoring by adding tissue that presses on the airway. Even a modest weight loss of 10% of body weight can meaningfully reduce snoring severity. Smoking also inflames the upper airway and increases mucus production, both of which make snoring louder and more frequent.
When Snoring Might Be Sleep Apnea
Not all snoring is harmless. If your partner’s snoring is loud enough to hear through a closed door, if you’ve noticed them stop breathing or gasp during sleep, or if they’re persistently tired during the day despite getting enough hours, those are signs of obstructive sleep apnea. Doctors use a screening tool called the STOP-BANG questionnaire to estimate risk. It flags eight factors:
- Snoring loudly
- Tiredness or daytime sleepiness
- Observed pauses in breathing
- Pressure (high blood pressure)
- BMI over 35
- Age over 50
- Neck circumference of 16 inches or more
- Gender (male)
Answering yes to three or four puts someone at intermediate risk. Five or more indicates high risk. Even scoring yes on two of the first four questions combined with being male, having a BMI over 35, or a neck circumference of 16 inches or more is enough to flag concern. Sleep apnea is treatable, and treating it eliminates the snoring along with the serious cardiovascular risks that come with untreated apnea.
Sleeping Separately Isn’t Failure
About 1 in 5 couples sleep in separate bedrooms most or all of the time, according to estimates from the Better Sleep Council and the International Housewares Association. The term “sleep divorce” sounds dramatic, but many couples who try it report that their relationship actually improves. When both partners sleep well, they’re less irritable, more patient, and more connected during waking hours.
If separate rooms feel too drastic, staggering bedtimes is a middle ground. If you fall asleep before the snorer comes to bed, you’re more likely to stay asleep through their snoring because you’ve already entered deeper sleep stages. Going to bed 20 to 30 minutes earlier can be enough.
The most effective approach usually combines several strategies at once: a sound machine for you, a side-sleeping aid and elevated pillow for your partner, a humidifier in the room, and an honest conversation about whether a medical evaluation makes sense. Snoring is a mechanical problem, not a character flaw, and treating it benefits both of you.