Why did I suddenly start snoring?
Snoring that appears or gets louder usually has an ordinary reason. Most of them are on this list, and several cost nothing to fix.
Snoring happens when the airway narrows during sleep and soft tissue vibrates. Anything that narrows the airway, relaxes the throat or blocks the nose can start it. Go through these in order.
A cold, hay fever or a blocked nose
The most common short-term cause. When the nose is blocked you breathe through your mouth, and the airway behind it narrows. Snoring that started with a cold usually goes when the cold does. If the nose stays blocked, that’s worth sorting out in its own right.
Weight
Extra weight around the neck narrows the airway. Australia’s 2023 snoring statement recommends weight loss for snorers who are overweight, while noting the effect isn’t guaranteed. A few kilograms gained over a year is one of the commonest reasons snoring starts in middle age. More on weight.
Alcohol in the evening
Alcohol relaxes the throat muscles, so a few drinks can turn a quiet sleeper into a snorer for one night. Both the Australian and German guidelines recommend cutting back in the evening. If the snoring is only on nights you drink, you have your answer.
Sleeping on your back
On your back, the tongue and soft palate fall backwards. If a partner says it’s worse when you’re on your back, side-sleeping is the first thing to try.
Age
Throat muscles lose tone with age, and snoring becomes more common through the forties and fifties in both sexes. In one European cohort of women aged 40–67, 71% had been told they snore, though that study did not look at how the figure changes with age. There’s no fix for age itself, but the other items on this list still apply.
Menopause
Women often start snoring around menopause. In a 2022 study of 774 European women, higher oestrogen and progesterone levels were associated with lower odds of snoring and of apnoea symptoms. That is an association, not evidence that hormone treatment stops snoring; it does mean new snoring at this stage is common and worth mentioning to a doctor, especially with daytime sleepiness.
Pregnancy
About one in four women start snoring during pregnancy. New snoring in pregnancy has been linked to high blood pressure and pre-eclampsia, so it is something to tell your midwife or doctor about, not something to treat with a product. More on pregnancy.
Medicines
Sleeping tablets, sedatives, some strong painkillers and anything that makes you drowsy relax the throat in the same way alcohol does. The Australian statement says reducing or avoiding benzodiazepines and opioids may be advised, where a clinician judges it appropriate. Don’t stop a prescribed medicine on your own; ask the prescriber whether it could be a factor.
Mouth breathing
If you’ve started waking with a dry mouth, you may be breathing through your mouth at night, often because of a blocked nose. Taping the mouth shut is not the answer; here’s why.
New snoring with breathing pauses, gasping, or heavy daytime sleepiness is a reason for an assessment, whatever else is on this list. So is new snoring in pregnancy.
Original sources & their limits
- Australasian Sleep Association position statement on consensus and evidence based treatment for primary snoring (Sarkis et al., Respirology, 2023) ↗
Full text read, 2026-10-26, from the open-access copy. The only recent guideline written specifically for snoring without significant sleep apnoea. Grades each option: mandibular advancement devices first line (Level B, high certainty); CPAP an option for people willing to try or already using it (Level B); positional therapy reasonable (Level C); weight loss and less alcohol recommended (Level D); mouth and throat exercises low risk, small effect (Level B, low certainty); radiofrequency palate surgery safe and effective short term (Level B); over-the-counter nasal dilators, sprays and herbal remedies not advised (Level D, low certainty). Nasal strips and mouth taping are not addressed.
- S3-Leitlinie: Diagnostik und Therapie des Schnarchens des Erwachsenen (AWMF, 2019) ↗
German national guideline on snoring in adults. Read with AI-assisted translation. Its current validity was not confirmed; it may be awaiting an update.
- Pregnancy-onset habitual snoring, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia: prospective cohort study (American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2012) ↗
Abstract read. 1,719 women in the third trimester; 25% began snoring during pregnancy. New-onset snoring was associated with gestational hypertension (adjusted odds ratio 2.36) and pre-eclampsia (1.59). An association in one cohort, not proof that snoring causes either.
- Female sex hormones and symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea in European women of a population-based cohort (PLOS ONE, 2022) ↗
Abstract and press coverage read. 774 women aged 40–67 in seven countries; 71% reported snoring. Higher oestrogen and progesterone levels were associated with lower odds of snoring and of apnoea symptoms. Cross-sectional association; not a trial of hormone treatment.
- Breaking social media fads and uncovering the safety and efficacy of mouth taping… A systematic review (Rhee et al., PLOS ONE, 2025) ↗
Full text read, 2026-10-26. 10 studies; the abstract says 213 participants and the results section 233 (the paper’s own numbers disagree). Small AHI improvements in mild sleep apnoea in two or three studies; four studies raised an asphyxiation risk with nasal obstruction. Three studies reported lower snoring index, one using a chinstrap. Conclusion: existing data do not support mouth taping for the general population with sleep-disordered breathing.
Sources checked 26 Oct 2026.