Updated November 5, 2026 · By Andy Leleux, sleep technologist
Why do we snore?
When you fall asleep, the muscles in your throat relax. If your airway narrows, the air flowing through makes the soft tissues vibrate: the soft palate, the uvula and the walls of the throat. That vibration is the sound of snoring.
The narrower the airway, the louder the vibration. When it closes, partly or completely, breathing slows down or stops: that is obstructive sleep apnea.
Illustration being redrawn
Soft palate and uvula vibrating as air flows past, side view
mecanisme-ronflement-vibration · 800×450px · medical-diagram
What makes snoring worse
Being overweight
Fat around the neck narrows the airway. A neck size over 40 cm (about 16 inches) is one of the items on the STOP-BANG questionnaire.
Alcohol and sleeping pills
They relax the throat muscles even more. Taken in the evening, they make both snoring and apneas worse. Heavy drinking is linked to a higher risk of sleep apnea.
Sleeping on your back
On your back, your tongue falls backward and narrows the airway even further.
Smoking
Smoking irritates the nose and throat. In surveys, smokers snore more often.
Allergies and a stuffy nose
A blocked nose forces you to breathe through your mouth, which makes the throat more likely to vibrate.
Anatomy
Large tonsils, a long uvula, a set-back lower jaw (retrognathia), a deviated septum: some face and throat shapes make snoring more likely.
Age
Muscle tone declines with age, and snoring becomes more common. In women, menopause also raises the risk of sleep apnea.
Being male
Men snore more often than women: 38% versus 30% in the 2019 UK survey.
Simple snoring or sleep apnea?
This is the question that matters most. Simple snoring is a nuisance, mostly for the people around you, but it is generally not a serious health problem. Sleep apnea is a chronic disease that raises the risk of cardiovascular disease, stroke and car accidents.
✓ Simple snoring (harmless)
- • A steady, even sound
- • No choking or jolting awake
- • No unusual tiredness during the day
- • No pauses in breathing that anyone has noticed
- • Normal concentration
- • Normal blood pressure
Warning signs: see a doctor
- • Pauses in breathing noticed by your bed partner
- • Loud snoring, then silence, then a snort or gasp as breathing restarts
- • Feeling exhausted in the morning after a full night
- • Excessive daytime sleepiness (dozing off without meaning to)
- • Frequent headaches when you wake up
- • High blood pressure that is hard to control
In Belgium, 188,500 people are treated for sleep apnea, according to 2024 figures from the NIHDI (INAMI/RIZIV). Many more do not know they have it: in a landmark US study, 82% of men and 93% of women with moderate to severe sleep apnea had never been diagnosed. Snoring is the sign you can actually hear, and yet it is often brushed aside.
Check your risk in 2 minutes
The STOP-BANG questionnaire is one of the most widely used screening tools in sleep medicine. Eight yes-or-no questions give you an estimate of your risk of obstructive sleep apnea.
Treatments, depending on your situation
What helps with simple snoring is not the same as what helps when snoring comes with sleep apnea.
A Simple snoring: changing a few habits
Sleep on your side
Your tongue no longer falls backward. A pillow wedged behind your back or a positional device can help.
Lose weight
If you are overweight, losing weight often reduces snoring, even when the loss is modest.
Skip alcohol in the evening
With no alcohol in the hours before bed, your throat muscles relax less.
Treat a stuffy nose
A saline nasal spray, nasal strips, or treatment for the underlying allergy.
Quit smoking
Your nose and throat become less irritated, and air flows more freely.
Raise the head of the bed
For some people, sleeping with the head slightly higher helps keep the airway open.
B Medical devices (persistent snoring or mild to moderate sleep apnea)
Oral appliance therapy
A custom-made mouthpiece that holds your lower jaw forward at night. Recommended for simple snoring, and for sleep apnea when CPAP is not tolerated or not wanted. Reimbursed by the NIHDI under certain conditions.
Positional therapy
Belts or pillows that keep you on your side. It works when snoring or apnea only happens on your back.
C If you are diagnosed with sleep apnea
Do not treat the snoring on its own. Treating the sleep apnea (CPAP, oral appliance) usually makes snoring disappear or drop off sharply. Treating only the snoring, with surgery for example, while leaving the apnea untreated can silence the warning sign without curing the disease. In Belgium, CPAP is covered through the NIHDI CPAP convention.
D Surgery (selected cases only)
Ear, nose and throat surgery (uvulopalatoplasty, tonsil removal, septum correction) may be considered when a specific anatomical cause has been found. For sleep apnea, it is mainly an option when CPAP is not tolerated or is turned down. Results vary from person to person, and the decision is made with an ENT specialist and your sleep doctor.
What should you do now?
Take the test
STOP-BANG takes 2 minutes. If you score 3 or more, talk to your doctor.
See your doctor
Your GP can refer you to a sleep center.
Get a diagnosis
Only respiratory polygraphy or polysomnography (a sleep study) can confirm or rule out sleep apnea.
Frequently asked questions
Sources
- Lechner M, Breeze CE, Ohayon MM, Kotecha B. Snoring and breathing pauses during sleep: interview survey of a United Kingdom population sample reveals a significant increase in the rates of sleep apnoea and obesity over the last 20 years. Data from the UK sleep survey. Sleep Med. 2019;54:250-256.
- Ohayon MM, et al. Snoring and breathing pauses during sleep: telephone interview survey of a United Kingdom population sample. BMJ. 1997;314(7084):860-3.
- Young T, et al. Estimation of the clinically diagnosed proportion of sleep apnea syndrome in middle-aged men and women. Sleep. 1997;20(9):705-6.
- Simou E, Britton J, Leonardi-Bee J. Alcohol and the risk of sleep apnoea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep Med. 2018;42:38-46.
- Ramar K, et al. Clinical Practice Guideline for the Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea and Snoring with Oral Appliance Therapy: An Update for 2015. J Clin Sleep Med. 2015;11(7):773-827.
- Kent D, et al. Referral of adults with obstructive sleep apnea for surgical consultation: an AASM clinical practice guideline. J Clin Sleep Med. 2021;17(12):2499-2505.
- Gottlieb DJ, Punjabi NM. Diagnosis and Management of Obstructive Sleep Apnea: A Review. JAMA. 2020;323(14):1389-1400.
See also
