9 Ways to Cope With Sleeping With a Snorer [Infographic]

Snoring not only affects the person that's snoring but can be even worse for people that are sharing the same sleeping space. This can lead to losing sleep leaving you feeling tired and groggy in the morning, despite getting into bed with more than enough hours before you need to wake up.

There are numerous guides for people who snore, but people who have to put up with snoring also need help. We’ll go through the practical actions you can take to limit the amount that your partner disturbs you when they snore.

The first step is for your partner to acknowledge that they snore because it’s widespread that they’ll be in denial. To prove it, you may need to download a sleep recording app which analyses your sleep through the night and highlights periods of snoring.

Alternatively, you could record it on your phone when you’re disturbed and woken up.

1. Elevate the Head

The reason that snoring often happens is because of blockages in the nasal passages. By elevating your partners head this can help to clear the passages so air can flow freely which helps to ease snoring.

The head can be lifted by either using a pillow wedge or a thicker pillow which raises the head higher than its previous position.

2. Clean Your Pillow

Nasal passages are often more congested in snorers, which also makes those that suffer from allergies more prone to snoring. Pillows collect dust and other allergens so if you don’t wash them frequently then this will lead to a build-up leading to stronger symptoms.

Ideally, they should be cleaned once a month and then replaced every six months. Additionally, you can also purchase hypoallergenic pillow covers which decrease the effects of allergies.

3. Block Out the Noise

If you can’t stop the noise at source, then the other alternative is to block it out so you can’t hear it.

Earplugs can be very effective at blocking out background noise, and they are also comfortable to wear made from soft material that contours to the shape of your ear so you barely even notice they’re in.

Alternatively, you can also use sleep headphones which allow you to listen to music or sounds to ease you to sleep without being disturbed by snoring. Sleep headphones differ from regular headphones because they are created to be comfortable even if you sleep on your side.

You may not be able to block all the sound because they’re sleeping so close to you, but at worst you will block out a significant level of it.

4. Use a White Noise Machine

A white noise machine will add neutral background noise to the room which helps to block out the sound of snoring. These machines come loaded with pre-recorded sounds that also help you to fall asleep even if nobody is snoring in the room and is a very popular sleeping aid.

Additionally, if you don’t like any of the pre-loaded sounds, then you can play your own white noise sound files.

5. Sleep in Separate Rooms

A YouGov poll found that 15% of couples in Britain would rather sleep in separate beds.

Taking this one step further, couples sleeping in separate rooms because of snoring is more common than you think. This is usually one of the last remedies when every other option pre-surgery has been exhausted.

Having this sleeping arrangement is ideal if you both sleep the same schedule and you find that you’re feeling fatigued in the morning due to a lack of sleep.

This is suitable for those that have a spare room or mattress. If you plan to sleep on a sofa that’s not been designed to sleep on, then this should be seen as a short term solution because this could create more issues such as back pain.

6. Go to Bed First

If your schedules allow it, you should try to go to sleep an hour or two before your partner to give you a head start so if you do get disturbed throughout the night you have enough “sleep in the bank” to ensure that you don’t feel tired in the morning.

This is ideal if you need to get up before your partner or if you’re the type of person that once you fall asleep, you stay asleep. This provides you with the best chance of entering deep sleep. Also, this stops you from worrying about whether your partners' snoring will be loud and keep you awake.

7. Change Sleeping Position

Body position plays a vital part in how much a person snores throughout the night, and snoring usually is worse when a person sleeps on their back because this allows the tongue to roll back which causes the airways to become more blocked which leads to snoring.

People snore less when they sleep on their side or front. Although we know it can be hard to suddenly change your sleeping position after years of sleeping the same way, over time this can be done and can start gradually when their snoring flares up in the middle of the night.

8. Get Them an Anti-Snoring Device

Anti snoring device success varies from person to person but definitely should be tried as a potential solution. The most common anti snore device are mouth guards that work to stop your tongue from rolling back and blocking the airways.

Most anti snore devices are affordable so they’re more than worth a try to see if they work and you have nothing to lose.

9. Help them to change their lifestyle

Snoring can be worsened by many lifestyle habits that your partner may have incorporated into their life. There are several things listed below that can increase the intensity of snoring:

• Obesity
• Smoking
• Alcohol consumption
• Nasal congestion caused by colds, allergies or other infections

If any of these apply to your partner, then they should be addressed as they could be the underlying reason for their snoring. Some of these symptoms can be fixed quickly such as a cold whereas others such as obesity are a longer-term fix.