How to Stop Snoring: What Actually Works (and What Doesn't)

By Dr. Boris Zusin · Published August 1, 2026

Search “how to stop snoring” and you'll find no shortage of tips, gadgets, and viral trends promising a quiet night's sleep. Some of it is genuinely useful. Some of it is, at best, unproven — and at worst, not something you should try without talking to a doctor first. Here's what actually holds up.

Start With the Basics

The lowest-risk, best-evidenced changes are also the simplest: sleep on your side rather than your back (lying on your back lets the tongue fall backward and narrow the airway), avoid alcohol and sedatives close to bedtime (they relax throat muscles more than usual), treat nasal congestion so you're not forced to breathe through your mouth, and lose weight if you're carrying extra tissue around the neck and throat. None of these require a purchase, and they're where most doctors recommend starting.

Does Losing Weight Permanently Cure Snoring?

For some people, yes in practical terms — for others, no, and it's worth knowing which camp you're likely in before treating weight loss as the whole solution. Extra tissue around the neck and throat narrows the airway and adds to the vibration that causes snoring, so shedding it often reduces snoring substantially, particularly in people who are overweight or obese to begin with. But research comparing snorers across different body weights has found that once someone's BMI is already in the normal range, further weight loss doesn't meaningfully reduce snoring — at that point, other contributors like airway anatomy, nasal obstruction, or a naturally narrow palate are usually doing more of the work, and no amount of additional weight loss will resolve those.

The word “permanently” is also the more important nuance than most people expect: weight loss doesn't change your anatomy in a lasting way that's independent of your weight. If the weight comes back, the snoring generally comes back with it, because the mechanism (tissue crowding the airway) is the same one that improved when the weight came off. So the honest framing is that weight loss can be a genuinely effective, durable fix for snoring driven primarily by excess weight — for as long as the weight loss itself is maintained — but it's not a one-time cure that outlasts weight regain, and it's not likely to help much at all if your BMI is already normal and something else is driving the snoring.

Does Drinking Alcohol or Smoking Make Snoring Worse?

Both do, but through different mechanisms, and it's worth knowing which one applies to you since the fix is different for each. Alcohol relaxes the muscles that hold the throat open, so tissue that would otherwise stay reasonably firm during sleep goes slack and vibrates more easily — a pooled analysis of controlled studies found alcohol consumption significantly worsened the apnea-hypopnea index and lowered overnight oxygen saturation compared to no alcohol, on top of making snoring louder. That effect is dose- and timing-dependent: drinking earlier in the evening, well before bed, generally matters less than drinking close to bedtime, since the muscle-relaxing effect is what's driving the snoring, not the alcohol lingering in your system overnight.

Smoking works differently — it doesn't relax throat muscles the way alcohol does, but it irritates and inflames the airway lining and increases mucus production, both of which narrow the passage air has to move through and increase resistance to airflow. A large population-based study found both alcohol consumption and cigarette smoking were independently associated with higher odds of habitual snoring in men and women, and notably, the association was stronger in people who weren't overweight — meaning these two habits can drive snoring on their own, not just as an add-on to excess weight. Cutting back on evening alcohol and reducing or quitting smoking are both low-risk, zero-cost changes worth trying before moving to anything more involved, and unlike some other snoring triggers, they're two of the few causes that are entirely within your control to change.

Nasal Strips and External Dilators

Adhesive nasal strips or dilators can genuinely help some people breathe easier through the nose, which can reduce snoring caused by nasal congestion. They're not effective for snoring caused by obstructive sleep apnea, so they're worth trying for mild, congestion-related snoring, but they're not a substitute for a diagnosis if something more serious is going on.

What About Mouth Taping?

Mouth taping — sealing the lips shut with medical tape to force nose-breathing — has become a popular social media trend, but the evidence behind it is thin. The studies that exist are small, and most of what's circulating is anecdotal rather than clinical. It also carries real risk: for anyone with nasal congestion, a deviated septum, enlarged tonsils, chronic allergies, or undiagnosed sleep apnea, taping the mouth shut can make it harder to get enough air during the night. If you're curious about it, that's a conversation for your doctor, not a decision to make solo based on a video.

When Lifestyle Changes Aren't Enough

If you've tried the basics and snoring is still disrupting your sleep — or your partner's — a custom oral appliance is typically the next step up. Unlike a nasal strip or tape, it addresses the actual mechanism (the airway narrowing at the throat, not the nose), and unlike an over-the-counter mouthguard, it's fitted and adjusted specifically to your bite and jaw position.

When to See a Doctor Instead of Trying More Home Remedies

If your snoring is loud and irregular, involves witnessed pauses in breathing, gasping, or choking, or comes with daytime fatigue or morning headaches, that's a different situation — those are signs it may be more than simple snoring, and worth a proper evaluation rather than another home remedy.