Any way you look at it, snoring is disruptive. It can lead to a restless slumber for snorers and anyone who shares a bedroom with them, which causes many people to seek out products to reduce (or prevent) snoring. There are lots of options that claim to help, like wedge pillows (which aren’t just for acid reflux), mouthpieces and nasal strips. But are they effective?
I talked to doctors about snoring, including who is prone to it, and they shared what you can do to reduce how much you snore. They also shared different types of over-the-counter anti-snoring devices to consider, whether you’re using them yourself or buying them for someone else.
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The best anti-snoring devices
While our experts say there are no guarantees that anti-snoring devices will work for everyone, they’re worth a try, so long as you consult your doctor beforehand. Here are a few pillows and pillow accessories for snorers that align with our experts’ guidance. I chose a few highly-rated picks, plus products recommended by NBC Select staff.
The best pillows for snorers
The Pillow Cube is a rectangular pillow specifically designed for side sleepers, and it won an NBC Select Bed & Bath Award. You place the bottom of the pillow against your shoulder, and when you lay your head on it, the pillow fills the gap between your head and your mattress. This helps keep your spine straight and aligned throughout the night, according to the brand.
The pillow is made from firm foam to support your head’s weight, has a breathable cover and comes with a removable, machine-washable pillowcase. It measures 24 inches long, 12 inches wide and five inches high.
Body pillows are a great option for snorers looking to make side sleeping more comfortable. You can drape your body over the long pillow and hug your arms around it, which can help you stay on your side overnight instead of rolling over onto your back, experts told me.
This body pillow comes recommended by Harry Rabinowitz, NBC Select reporter, and it’s adjustable — you can remove the memory foam and microfiber filling to find a loft that matches your preferences. The body pillow’s outer cover is removable and machine-washable, and it measures 54 inches long and 20 inches wide.
Experts recommend looking for wedge pillows that are between 10 and 12 inches high, which elevate your head at about a 30 to 45 degree angle while you’re laying on your back. This one fits the bill at 24 inches long, 24 inches wide and 10 inches high. The pillow’s microfiber, machine-washable cover is zippered and pocketed on both sides so you can store your phone or remote control. And the core is high-density foam to provide pressure relief and comfortable support.
Smart Nora isn’t exactly a pillow — it’s a modern solution to an age-old problem. It comes with three parts: an inflatable pillow insert, an air pump base and a microphone sensor. You place the insert inside your pillowcase, which is connected to the air pump base. The microphone sensor that sits on your side table listens for snoring sounds, and when they’re detected, it tells the air pump to inflate the pillow insert to elevate your head. Then, when it no longer detects snoring sounds, the base deflates the insert to lower your head.
You can adjust how sensitive the microphone is to snoring sounds, as well as how much the pillow insert moves throughout the night. The Smart Nora is FSA- and HSA-eligible.
Anti-snoring devices that address the nasal pathway
I always keep a pack of these nasal strips at home because I have seasonal allergies. I wear them when I’m congested to reduce the chances that I start snoring and immediately feel how much they open my nasal passages when I apply them. The strips come in a box of 26 (that’s lots of snore-free nights) and their adhesive has never irritated my sensitive skin.
I find that they usually stay in place overnight, but the one downfall of any nasal strips is that they can unstick while you’re sleeping, especially if you don’t let skin care products dry before applying them, says Dr. Paul Chung, a physician and an instructor of neurology and sleep medicine at Northwestern University. These nasal strips are tan, but you can also purchase clear ones.
Nasal dilators come in different sizes, so if you’re new to using them, buy a pack with multiple options. You can try on each size, find which one is most comfortable and buy just that size the next time you place an order.
These nasal dilators are made from a transparent, flexible, medical-grade material. They have a hook whose sides sit inside the nose, while the base rests outside the nose and on top of the nostrils. There are loops on either side of the hook, and you can make the loops narrower or wider to customize the fit. You can reuse each nasal dilator up to 10 times, according to the brand.
Anti-snoring devices that address the upper airway
Chung says some of his patients have success with this snoring mouthguard. It has a boil-and-bite design (meaning you put them in boiling water to make them malleable and bite down on them to make an impression of your teeth.) and is adjustable — you can choose how much the mouthguard pulls your lower jaw forward by moving the built-in hinge.
It’s reusable and typically lasts for about six to 11 months before you’ll need a new one, according to the brand, which recommends cleaning the mouthguard after every use with a toothbrush and toothpaste.
This mouthguard is moldable using the boil-and-bite process, allowing you to make the shape of the guard a perfect fit for you. It has an adjustable strap and it’s free of BPA and phthalates, according to the brand. Additionally, some customers mention how the moldable shape of the mouthguard helps prevent it from moving around while they sleep.
How I picked anti-snoring devices
Types of anti-snoring devices
I talked to experts about different types of over-the-counter anti-snoring devices and how each one works. All of the products align with their guidance and fall into three main categories: devices that address sleep position, devices that address the nasal pathway and devices that address the upper airway.
Note that there’s one caveat when it comes to all anti-snoring devices — they might work. There are no guarantees, and everyone’s body responds differently to each product. Experts recommend approaching snoring aids with an open mind and accepting that it will likely take a lot of trial-and-error to find something that works for you.
Remember to always talk to your doctor before trying an anti-snoring device to make sure it fits your needs.
Devices that address sleep position
Adjusting your sleeping position is one of the fastest, easiest ways to potentially reduce snoring, experts told me. They unanimously agree that snorers should prioritize side sleeping and avoid back sleeping, which tends to make you snore more. That’s because when you’re supine (on your back), gravity pulls the soft tissues around your airway downward and toward the back of your throat, making the area narrower, says Dr. Chung. Sleeping on your side helps keep the airway as open as possible.
To make side sleeping more comfortable, use pillows designed to help keep your spine straight and support your head, neck and shoulders while resting on your right or left. If you’re exclusively a back sleeper, a wedge pillow can help. It elevates your head so you’re not laying completely flat, thus reducing how much the soft tissues around your airway are being pulled downward, says Dr. Andrew Varga, a neuroscientist and physician at the Mount Sinai Integrative Sleep Center. Some brands also make devices that go inside your pillowcase and inflate to elevate your head when their sensors detect snoring sounds in real time, says Varga.
Finally, if you’re looking for a DIY solution to train yourself to sleep on your side, Varga recommends filling a long sock with tennis balls and sewing it to the back of an old shirt. If you start rolling over onto your back while sleeping, the balls will make it uncomfortable, likely causing you to wake up and readjust yourself on your side.
Devices that address the upper airway
There are two types of dental devices that can help reduce snoring, both of which work to widen and expand the upper airway: mandibular advancement devices (MADs) and tongue-retaining devices (TRDs).
- MADs, commonly called snoring mouthguards, gently pull your lower jaw forward, giving you somewhat of an underbite, says Varga. Since your tongue is attached to your lower jaw, the device helps move the tongue muscle forward toward the front of your face. “This creates more room in the back of the upper airway and puts a little bit of tension on some of the soft tissue, making it less prone to vibrating and therefore less able to make that snoring sound,” says Varga.
Over-the-counter snoring mouthguards have a customizable boil-and-bite design.The reusable device is custom-fit to your mouth, so long as you follow the directions properly.
Over-the-counter snoring mouthguards don’t tend to work as well as snoring mouthguards dentists can make for you, says Varga. But they’re a more affordable option you can try at home before committing to a pricier model. Over-the-counter snoring mouthguards typically cost around $100 maximum, while custom dentist-designed versions can cost more than $1,000 if your insurance doesn’t cover it, says Chung.
- TRDs gently pull the tongue forward and prevent it from falling into the back of the mouth while you’re sleeping. You insert your tongue into the device and it holds onto the front part of the tongue throughout the night. Tongue-retaining devices have a similar effect to snoring mouthguards, experts told me, so you can try both to see which one is most effective and comfortable for you.
Devices that address the nasal pathway
If you have allergies, sinus issues or congestion, try to treat that first, says Chung. Your doctor may be able to prescribe nasal spray or recommend an over-the-counter medication. There are also a few products that can help open the nasal pathway.
- Nasal strips are flexible stickers that you apply right above the flare of your nostrils. They work to lift the sides of the nose up, which gently pulls your nostrils open and expands the size of the nasal pathway, experts told us. This gives air more space to flow through as you breathe.
- Nasal dilators work similarly to nasal strips, but they hold the nostrils open from the inside of the nose instead of the outside. Whether you use nasal strips or nasal dilators is ultimately a personal preference — if you’ve never used either product before, experts say it may be a good idea to try both and see what works for you.
Does your bed partner snore? These products can help
If your partner’s snoring is preventing you from getting a restful sleep, these products can help you block out the nose.
One of our favorite products, the Loop earplugs, helps mask sounds that would otherwise interrupt your sleep. In her review of the device, NBC Select editor Mili Godio praised the earplugs for being comfortable and allowing her to still hear some sounds and stay aware of her surroundings. They’re also a great option for helping you sleep on a plane during long flights where sounds often clash with each other.
This device helps create a calming ambiance in your bedroom by playing relaxing sounds. Aside from white nose, it also plays sounds like the ocean, streams and rain. Around the size of a small plate, the device has a volume dial and you can schedule it to turn off after an hour or 30 minutes.
This headband has Bluetooth headphones built into the sides that allow you to listen to calming sounds and help you sleep. It’s compatible with Android and iOS devices and on a full charge, has up to 10 hours of listening time, according to the brand. You can even answer calls on the built-in headphones, too.
Frequently asked questions
Simply put, snoring is the vibration of the soft tissues in the upper airway, says Varga. When you go to sleep, your muscles relax since you’re laying down instead of sitting upright. This change in body position causes gravity to narrow your airways, says Dr. Noah Siegel, director of sleep medicine and sleep surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear at Harvard Medical School. As air then moves through the nose and down the throat when you inhale, it generates vibration of the soft tissues in your upper airway. That vibration is the sound that we associate with snoring, says Chung.
Anything that further narrows the nasal pathway or the upper airway worsens snoring or makes you more likely to snore, says Chung. For example, your nasal pathway tends to narrow when you’re congested, and factors like obesity, older age, alcohol consumption and tobacco use can cause the upper airway to narrow, he says.
Snoring can be a sign of a bigger issue like sleep apnea, but there are also many cases where it’s not necessarily worrisome, says Siegel. That’s why it’s so important to talk to your doctor about snoring, especially if you notice it having a negative impact on your sleep quality.
Meet our sleep experts
At NBC Select, we work with experts who have specialized knowledge and authority based on relevant training and/or experience. We also take steps to ensure that all expert advice and recommendations are made independently and with no undisclosed financial conflicts of interest.
- Dr. Andrew Varga is a neuroscientist and physician at the Mount Sinai Integrative Sleep Center. He’s also an associate professor of medicine at Mount Sinai’s Icahn School of Medicine where he teaches about pulmonary, critical care and sleep medicine.
- Dr. Noah Siegel is the director of sleep medicine and sleep surgery at Massachusetts Eye and Ear at Harvard Medical School.
- Dr. Paul Chung is a physician and an instructor of neurology and sleep medicine at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine.
Why trust NBC Select?
I am a reporter at NBC Select who covers sleep, including stories on slippers, sleep masks and sunrise alarm clocks. For this article, I interviewed three experts about anti-snoring devices and rounded up products that align with their guidance.
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