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Sleep / Series · How snoring happens, part 3

What affects snoring: position, weight, alcohol, the nose

Introductory · 4 min read · ■■■□ moderate evidence

By: NefeslyFirst published: 18 October 2026Last updated: 29 October 2026Editor: support@nefesly.com

In the first part of the series we explained why the throat narrows during sleep. Most of the things that affect snoring work in one of two ways: they either increase this narrowing or make it harder for air to get in. We cover the first three factors in separate guide articles; here we summarise them briefly and focus mainly on the nose.

Sleeping position

When you lie on your back, the tongue and soft palate can slide backwards, and the throat closes more easily1. In more than half of people with sleep apnea, breathing events at least double when lying on the back2.

More: Does sleep position affect snoring?

Weight

Weight affects how easily the throat closes during sleep3. In a community study, a 10% increase in weight was associated with an increase of about 32% in breathing events per hour4.

More: Weight and snoring

Alcohol

Alcohol can relax the throat muscles. In a small study, alcohol taken before bed caused pauses in breathing in the first hour of sleep in two people who snored5.

More: Alcohol, late meals and snoring

Smoking

People who smoke are more likely to snore6. In a community study, smokers snored for an average of 41% of the night, compared with 31% in non-smokers7. Smoking is also thought to be a risk factor for sleep apnea8,9.

Blocked nose

The nose is the first door air comes through. When the nose is blocked, air gets in less easily. In people whose nose was blocked experimentally, snoring and pauses in breathing could appear10.

When the nose is blocked, most people start breathing through the mouth without noticing. An open mouth also affects the throat. In a small study of healthy volunteers, the throat closed more easily during sleep with the mouth open11.

How much does this matter in daily life? In a US study that followed about 5 thousand people, regular snoring was 3 times more common in those whose nose was almost always blocked at night than in those with no blockage at all12. This link held in snorers without sleep apnea as well12.

A blocked nose has many causes. It can be short-lived, as with a cold. It can also be long-lasting, as with allergies and sinus problems10. The structure inside the nose can also narrow the passage of air6.

How much clearing a blocked nose reduces snoring has not been studied enough. The researchers who found this link write that new studies are needed12. If your nose has been blocked for weeks, or the same side is always blocked, it is a good idea to see a doctor. For snoring complaints, a doctor usually also looks inside the mouth and nose6.

So it is not surprising that snoring gets worse on some nights and better on others. The same throat can behave differently depending on your position, what you drank that evening and the state of your nose. Noting what was different on the nights you snored more can help when you talk to a doctor.

When to see a doctor?

If your nose has been blocked for a long time, or someone has seen your breathing stop in your sleep, see a doctor. When to see a doctor · Sleep centres in Türkiye

In depthmechanisms, studies, limitations

Position: in 55.9% of 574 patients with OSA, the supine RDI was at least twice the lateral RDI2. Position-dependent patients were on average younger and thinner; position dependence was rarer in severe disease2. Pcrit was higher supine than lateral in all sleep stages1.

Weight: in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort (n=690, 4 years), compared with stable weight, a 10% weight gain predicted an increase of about 32% in AHI (95% CI 20 to 45), and a 10% weight loss a decrease of 26% (95% CI 18 to 34)4.

Alcohol: in a seven-patient study, alcohol increased the duration and frequency of obstructive events in five patients with OSA, and produced marked obstructive apnea in the first hour in two simple snorers. The authors attributed this to oropharyngeal muscle hypotonia and suppression of arousal mechanisms5.

Nose: in the Wisconsin cohort (n=4916, aged 30 to 60), the odds ratio for habitual snoring with severe nocturnal nasal congestion, adjusted for sex, age, body habitus and smoking, was 3.0 (95% CI 2.2 to 4.0)12. Over five years of follow-up, in those reporting severe congestion at both measurements the ratio was 4.9 (95% CI 2.8 to 8.8)12. In the same group, those reporting congestion due to allergy were 1.8 times more likely to have moderate to severe sleep-disordered breathing10. Mouth opening raised Pcrit from −16.4 ± 6 to −12.7 ± 4.8 cm H2O (n=6)11.

Limitation: the nasal congestion data are self-reported and observational; causality and the effect of treatment cannot be shown with these data.

Sources

  1. Penzel T, M\"oller M, Becker HF et al. Effect of sleep position and sleep stage on the collapsibility of the upper airways in patients with sleep apnea. Sleep. 2001;24(1):90-95. doi:10.1093/sleep/24.1.90
  2. Oksenberg A, Arons E, Radwan H et al. Positional vs Nonpositional Obstructive Sleep Apnea Patients. Chest. 1997;112(3):629-639. doi:10.1378/chest.112.3.629
  3. Kirkness JP, Schwartz AR, Schneider H et al. Contribution of male sex, age, and obesity to mechanical instability of the upper airway during sleep. Journal of Applied Physiology. 2008;104(6):1618-1624. doi:10.1152/japplphysiol.00045.2008
  4. Peppard PE, Young T, Palta M et al. Longitudinal Study of Moderate Weight Change and Sleep-Disordered Breathing. JAMA. 2000;284(23):3015-3021. doi:10.1001/jama.284.23.3015
  5. Issa FG, Sullivan CE. Alcohol, snoring and sleep apnea. Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 1982;45(4):353-359. doi:10.1136/jnnp.45.4.353
  6. NHS. Snoring. https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/snoring/
  7. Bearpark H, Elliott L, Grunstein R et al. Snoring and sleep apnea. A population study in Australian men. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 1995;151(5):1459-1465. doi:10.1164/ajrccm.151.5.7735600
  8. Wetter DW, Young TB, Bidwell TR et al. Smoking as a Risk Factor for Sleep-Disordered Breathing. Archives of Internal Medicine. 1994;154(19):2219-2224. doi:10.1001/archinte.1994.00420190121014
  9. Jordan AS, McSharry DG, Malhotra A. Adult obstructive sleep apnoea. The Lancet. 2014;383(9918):736-747. doi:10.1016/s0140-6736(13)60734-5
  10. Young T, Finn L, Kim H. Nasal obstruction as a risk factor for sleep-disordered breathing. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. 1997;99(2):S757-S762. doi:10.1016/s0091-6749(97)70124-6
  11. Meurice JC, Marc I, Carrier G et al. Effects of mouth opening on upper airway collapsibility in normal sleeping subjects. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 1996;153(1):255-259. doi:10.1164/ajrccm.153.1.8542125
  12. Young T, Finn L, Palta M. Chronic nasal congestion at night is a risk factor for snoring in a population-based cohort study. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2001;161(12):1514-1519. doi:10.1001/archinte.161.12.1514
Cite

APA 7

Nefesly. (2026, October 18). What affects snoring: position, weight, alcohol, the nose Nefesly. Retrieved: 30 October 2026, https://nefesly.com/en/guide/what-affects-snoring/

BibTeX

@misc{nefesly2026whataffectssnoring,
  author = {{Nefesly}},
  title = {What affects snoring: position, weight, alcohol, the nose},
  year = {2026},
  howpublished = {\url{https://nefesly.com/en/guide/what-affects-snoring/}},
  note = {Last updated 2026-10-29; accessed 2026-10-30}
}

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Corrections

  • 2026-10-23: English version published.
  • 2026-10-29: For children layer added.

Disclosure: This article has no sponsor.