Most natural snoring remedies work a little, a few work reasonably well, and some have never been tested. This page sorts them by asking the question you’d ask a doctor friend.
Every answer below points to a study you can open. Where the evidence runs out, I say so.
One caution before we start. If your snoring comes with gasping or long pauses, skip the home remedies and book a sleep test.
Does Sleeping on My Side Help?
For many people, yes. Flat on your back, the tongue and soft palate slump toward your throat.
A review published in 2024 said position-changing methods can lower snoring, while noting that some people find them uncomfortable. Nobody has yet compared the methods against each other head to head.
A pillow built to shift your head showed promise in a small crossover trial.
An older 40-person trial weighed a head-positioning pillow against a strip for the nose and a throat spray. None of the three beat the comparison.
The takeaway: side sleeping is worth a try, and not every pillow earns the label.
Does a Drink Before Bed Make It Worse?
Yes, and the studies agree. Alcohol relaxes muscles, including the ones holding your airway open.
A pooled analysis of 14 trials found drinking added to breathing interruptions during sleep, with a bigger jump among snorers. A second review found worse snoring and a lower oxygen floor.
The takeaway: move the last drink well before bedtime.
Can Mouth and Throat Exercises Quiet Snoring?
This is the remedy with the strongest backing. A randomized trial assigned 39 people to daily exercises for three months, and their snoring rate dropped by about half.
The Cochrane team was more guarded, rating the loudness benefit as moderate certainty and the effect on frequency as very uncertain. They wanted larger trials.
The takeaway: ask a speech pathologist or sleep dentist for a routine, then practice daily.
Does Tilting the Bed Work?
Maybe. A trial of 52 people with sleep apnea found that a 7.5 degree tilt brought hourly breathing interruptions down from about 16 to about 11.
That’s apnea, not plain snoring, so it’s a hint and not a promise. Use a purpose-built wedge or riser, and skip the loose books.
Do Nasal Strips and Breathing Drills Help?
Strips ease a stuffy nose, yet a meta-analysis covering 14 studies saw no significant shift in apnea measures or snoring index among apnea patients. A review of the nose’s role was kinder, saying dilators seemed to reduce snoring.
Breathing exercises show up inside bundled therapies, so you can’t credit them alone. Our piece on Buteyko breathing digs into that one.
Do Humidifiers and Oils Do Anything?
I found no trial showing a humidifier cuts snoring. If your nose is dry and crusty, it may still make the bedroom nicer.
For oils, there’s one double-blind study of a spray or gargle from 2004, with partners reporting less snoring. Read our essential oils guide before you buy any.
When Is It More Than Snoring?
Watch for gasping, choking, witnessed pauses, and sleepiness that wrecks your afternoons. Those point toward sleep apnea, which needs a proper test and often a different treatment.
If you’re weighing what comes after home remedies, see our CPAP alternatives and the anti-snoring device comparison.
What to Try Tonight
Move your last drink earlier, sleep on your side, and start five minutes of throat exercises. Keep a log for two weeks.
Weight can matter too. Our page on losing weight to stop snoring covers what to expect.
More On the Topic
- Alcohol and breathing during sleep, pooled from 14 trials (PubMed)
- Randomized trial of daily oropharyngeal exercises (PubMed)
- What the Cochrane authors made of mouth muscle therapy (PubMed)
- Head position pillows against snoring, a crossover study (PubMed)
- Head-end elevation and apnea severity in 52 patients (PubMed)
Related reading: Skip the Gadget: How to Count Your Sleeping Breaths for Free.