Skip to content
While I breathe, I hope Newsletter (Turkish)

Sleep / Guide

Does sleep position affect snoring?

By: NefeslyLast updated: 2026-10-30

The way you lie while you sleep can affect how open your airway stays. In some people, snoring and breathing pauses happen only when they sleep on their back.

What happens on your back?

When you lie on your back, gravity can pull the tongue and soft palate backwards. This can narrow the airway and raise the risk of it closing. Sleeping on your side may help reduce the collapse of the upper airway during sleep.

Position related snoring

In about half of people with sleep apnea, breathing pauses increase when they lie on their back. This is called positional sleep apnea. It may be more common in people who are younger, whose apnea is milder and whose weight is lower. Noting which nights you snore more may be useful when you talk to your doctor.

Ways to make side sleeping easier

The simplest method is to put a tennis ball in a pocket sewn onto the back of your vest or pyjama top. When you roll onto your back in sleep, you feel the ball and turn to your side. Pillows placed behind your back, special pillows or vests can also be used. Sleeping with your head slightly raised may also ease snoring for some people.

Things to keep in mind

Changing position may reduce breathing pauses, but for sleep apnea it has not been found as effective as device treatment. Many people also find it hard to keep up over a long time. That is why it should be seen as an addition to the treatment your doctor suggests, not as a treatment on its own. If someone has seen your breathing stop, or you are very sleepy during the day, talk to a doctor first.

For expertsdefinitions, thresholds, guidelines

Positional OSA (POSA) is mostly defined by the Cartwright criterion: AHI of at least 5 per hour and a supine AHI at least twice the non-supine AHI. In the HypnoLaus cohort (n=1719, home PSG), POSA was seen in 75% of participants with OSA, and "exclusive" POSA, in which the non-supine AHI returns to normal, in 36%. In men, a lower AHI and BMI were associated with POSA.1

In a Cochrane review (8 RCTs, 323 participants), positional therapy lowered the AHI by 7.38 per hour (95% CI 4.70 to 10.06) and the Epworth score by 1.58 compared with inactive control. CPAP lowered the AHI by a further 6.4 per hour (3.00 to 9.79) compared with positional therapy (low certainty); subjective use, however, was 2.5 hours a night longer with positional therapy (moderate certainty).2

The ERS 2021 guideline gives a conditional recommendation for a vibrating positional device or CPAP in mild and moderate POSA (non-supine AHI below 15 per hour); the certainty of evidence is very low.3

Limitations: the studies are short and small; long-term adherence and cardiovascular outcomes are not known.

  1. Heinzer R, Petitpierre NJ, Marti-Soler H et al. Prevalence and characteristics of positional sleep apnea in the HypnoLaus population-based cohort. Sleep Medicine. 2018;48:157-162. doi:10.1016/j.sleep.2018.02.011
  2. Srijithesh PR, Aghoram R, Goel A et al. Positional therapy for obstructive sleep apnoea. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews. 2019;2019(5):CD010990. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD010990.pub2
  3. Randerath W, Verbraecken J, de Raaff CAL et al. European Respiratory Society guideline on non-CPAP therapies for obstructive sleep apnoea. European Respiratory Review. 2021;30(162):210200. doi:10.1183/16000617.0200-2021

Sources

  1. Turkish Thoracic Society. Consensus Report on the Diagnosis and Treatment of Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome. Turkish Thoracic Journal, 2012;13(Suppl 1).
  2. Başkent University Adana Hospital. Obstructive Sleep Apnea Syndrome: patient information leaflet (in Turkish). Undated.
  3. National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NIH). Your Guide to Healthy Sleep. 2011.

Disclosure: this article has no sponsor.