Snoring is a common joke between couples, but it’s also, physiologically, one of the earliest signs that something in the airway isn’t working the way it should.
Most people never actually get to hear their own snoring. A partner notices it. The person doing it is almost always asleep.
In this guide, we explain what snoring is, when it can be a sign of something more serious, and how to understand and reduce snoring.
Causes of snoring
Snoring is the sound of resistance. During sleep , muscle tone in the throat relaxes, and in some people the airway narrows enough that the soft palate, tongue base and surrounding tissue start to vibrate as air moves past. A narrower jaw, a larger neck, or naturally close-set airway anatomy all make that narrowing more likely.
Loud, occasional snoring on its own is common and usually harmless. The concern is when the airway narrows enough to briefly close altogether, producing a pause in breathing rather than just a vibration. That’s an apnoea event.
Each one causes a brief drop in blood oxygen and a spike in stress hormones. Doing that dozens of times a night, for years, is the mechanism behind snoring’s association with higher long-term stroke risk – a cumulative meta-analysis across 145,901 people put habitual snoring at a 46% higher stroke risk than non-snorers.
It’s estimated that 1/3 of regular snorers may have undiagnosed obstructive sleep apnea (OSA), a condition affecting nearly 1 billion adults worldwide, that can cause hypertension and cardiovascular disease.
The reason snoring goes unnoticed for years is the obvious problem: you cannot listen to yourself sleep.
Overnight audio tracking – the kind of tech behind Ultrahuman’s Respiratory Health PowerPlug – lets a phone left nearby overnight flag snoring for the first time, without anyone else needing to notice or report it.
This enables people to get insights into the frequency and severity of snoring and breathing disturbances – and understand whether snoring is harmless, or a sign that something is wrong.
When snoring could be something more
Loudness says only that soft tissue is vibrating, but it doesn’t reveal whether the airway is closing. Three other signs are what separate a joke from a reason to see a doctor:
- Pauses in breathing: Someone else notices you stop breathing, even briefly, before you start again.
- Gasping or choking awake: You wake up abruptly gasping for air, rather than just stirring.
- Daytime sleepiness despite a full night: You’re getting seven-plus hours and still feel exhausted, foggy, or fall asleep at inappropriate moments.
How to reduce snoring
- Cut back on alcohol close to bedtime: It relaxes throat muscles further, and the effect on breathing patterns shows up directly in overnight data.
- Treat congestion before bed: A blocked nose forces mouth-breathing, which makes airway collapse and vibration more likely.
- Try side sleeping, a different pillow, or nose taping: Each changes airway position or resistance, and whether it helps is visible within a few nights.
- Talk to a doctor if nothing changes: Persistent snoring despite the above is the point to properly rule out sleep apnoea, rather than keep guessing.
Using the Respiratory Health PowerPlug with Ultrahuman Ring can help you understand whether your snoring is cause for concern.
Reviewed by Mukul Mittal, MD.
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