How To Sleep With Someone Who Snores?

Does your partner have a habit of snoring so loudly that you can’t get proper sleep at night? An annual report by Mute Snoring found that 37% of people reported experiencing sleep difficulties because of their or their partner’s snoring. If you find yourself stuck in this situation, here are some strategies that will help you sleep with someone who snores. Keep reading to find out more!

What Causes My Partner To Snore?

If your partner’s loud snoring happens frequently and prevents you from getting a good night’s sleep, you might want to think about why it occurs in the first place.

Some of the common risk factors include [1]:

• Obstructive sleep apnea
• Anatomy
• Aging
• Obesity
• Consumption of alcohol
• Sleeping position
• Pregnancy
• Weak muscle tone in throat and tongue
• Sleep deprivation

What causes my partner to snore so loud?

Doctor’s response

People snore when the flow of air through the mouth and nose is obstructed during sleep, leading to vibrations of the tissues in the throat. The narrower the airway is, the more forceful the airflow becomes which leads to loud snoring. Many underlying conditions can contribute to snoring such as obesity, aging and other lifestyle factors.

Dr. June Seliber-Klein

MD DABPN, Sleep Board Certified, Chief Medical Officer Ognomy Sleep

7 Tips on How To Sleep With A Snoring Partner

Trying to get enough sleep and ensure that it is good quality is especially difficult when your bed partner snores constantly. In America, snoring is the third leading cause of divorce highlighting how disruptive it can be to both sleep and relationships [2]. Poor sleep due to snoring doesn’t just affect your mood—it can take a toll on your overall health and quality of life.

Fortunately, you can learn how to avoid and manage such a situation with the right strategies. Here are 7 tips on how you can sleep with a partner who has chronic snoring.

1. Try to go to bed earlier

If you know that your partner’s snoring will negatively affect your sleep quality, try to sleep earlier than them. Ideally, you should try to be in a deep sleep stage so that you will be woken up by any external noises as easily.

2. Distract yourself

You can also try to distract your mind from the loud and annoying sounds of snoring by trying out a few different ways such as tuning in to a podcast, listening, and practicing meditation exercises as well as using various sleep sounds to drown out the background noise.

Once you are accustomed to hearing these sounds, you will find that the snoring is much easier to deal with and eventually fall asleep.

3. Listen to white noise

Listening to white noise is also another way to drown out the snoring and lull yourself to sleep. You can opt to use a white noise machine, and leave it playing for a few hours during the night. Otherwise, you may also opt to use an app with white noise offerings such as the ShutEye® app.

In the ShutEye App®, you can opt for sounds like:

• Chirping of birds
• Ocean waves
• Waterfall
• Rain
• Thunderstorms and many more.

It serves as a good alternative if you don’t wish to buy a white noise machine and if you are looking for a portable and affordable option.

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4. Have your partner change their sleep position

Your partner’s sleeping position may also contribute to their snoring habits. It is found that body position can play a role in the quality of your sleep. For individuals who struggle with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), sleeping on the back can increase the risk of snoring compared to a side sleeping position or on the stomach [3].

Try to nudge your partner or place a pillow beneath if you catch them sleeping on their back the next time.

5. Try anti-snoring pillows

You can also opt to try other sleep aids to help prevent snoring from occurring. One useful sleep aid is an anti-snoring pillow. It works by providing proper neck support and alignment such that your head remains elevated and your airways are clear. Ensure that you choose a good quality anti-snoring pillow that is suitable for your sleep position.

6. Wear headphones or earplugs

Another common way to muffle or lessen the snores of your partner is to buy yourself noise-reducing or sleep headphones or earplugs. Blocking out the sounds from your environment can help to make your nights more pleasant and promote better sleep quality.

7. Encourage your partner to get evaluated

If your partner’s snoring starts to feel concerning or worrisome, you might want to speak to your partner about it and encourage them to get it evaluated by a sleep specialist. Doing a sleep study may be useful in determining if their snores suggest that they have obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

In the event that they are diagnosed with sleep apnea, they may be considered for CPAP therapy or BiPAP therapy as treatment options.

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How Can Someone’s Snores Negatively Impact Your Health?

Snoring can cause sleep disruptions which may contribute to sleep deprivation. In the long term, this may lead to various health implications. For example, a night with less than 6 hours of sleep leads to obesity, and less than 5 hours leads to an increase in mortality risk by 15% [4], [5].

Moreover, it can also lead to an increased risk of:

• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Diabetes 
• Memory loss
• Bad mood

Conclusion

Trying to get proper sleep around a partner who suffers from chronic snoring is never an easy feat. However, you can adopt strategies such as going to bed earlier, using white noise, helping them to adjust their sleep position, and more to minimize snoring and fall asleep better at night.

Alternatively, you may also encourage your partner to keep track of their sleep habits and snoring patterns with the ShutEye® app. ShutEye® comes with an advanced sleep-tracking and snore-recording feature to help you improve your sleep quality.

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