Snoring while traveling, how do you prevent it?

Snoring at home is annoying enough. But snoring while traveling often feels even more uncomfortable. On a plane, in a hotel room, or in a tent, others are sleeping nearby. You feel embarrassed, your travel companions lie awake, and you sleep more restlessly yourself.

The good news: snoring while traveling can often be significantly reduced. In this blog, you will read why you snore more on vacation than at home. You will discover what you can do for each travel situation. And you will learn which aids are worth bringing, depending on the cause of your snoring.

Why do you snore more when traveling than at home?

Snoring occurs when air does not flow freely through your nose and throat. The soft tissues in your throat then begin to vibrate. When traveling, factors are added that amplify this. As a result, even people who hardly snore at home may snore.

The main causes at a glance:

• Alcohol. A glass of wine with dinner or a cocktail by the pool relaxes the muscles in your throat. Your tongue and soft palate sag backward more easily.
• Sleeping on your back. In an airplane seat or on a narrow camping cot, you lie or sit on your back (or semi-upright) more often. Gravity causes your tongue to fall backward, narrowing your airway.
• Dry air. Air conditioning in the hotel and low humidity in an airplane dry out your mucous membranes. This makes breathing through your nose more difficult.
• Stuffy nose. A different environment means different dust, pollen, and sometimes an emerging cold. A stuffy nose pushes you toward mouth breathing.
• Fatigue and a different rhythm. Late nights, early flights, and jet lag lead to deeper, exhaustion-driven sleep. This also relaxes your throat muscles further.

Breathing through your mouth plays a role in many of these causes. Research shows that mouth breathing during sleep makes the airway more susceptible to narrowing and breathing disturbances (White et al., 1985). Therefore, those who breathe more through their mouth while traveling are more likely to snore.

Did you already snore at home and is it getting worse on your trip? Then read our blog about why you are suddenly snoring. In it, we discuss nine possible causes.

Preventing snoring per travel situation

There is no single "cure" for snoring. What works depends on the cause and where you are sleeping. Below you can read what helps for each situation.

Snoring on the airplane

In an airplane seat, you sit semi-upright, with your head falling backward. This is exactly the posture in which your tongue blocks your airway. Moreover, cabin air is extremely dry.

What helps:

• Use a neck pillow that keeps your head upright. This prevents your jaw and tongue from falling backward.
• Drink water instead of alcohol. Alcohol at high altitudes has a stronger effect and relaxes your throat muscles even more.
• Is it difficult to breathe through your nose due to the dry air? A nasal strip mechanically opens your nostrils without the use of medication.

Snoring in your hotel room

You often share a hotel room with your partner, family, or friends. The air conditioning dries out the air, and the mattress is different from the one at home. This is precisely why snoring is a source of irritation.

What helps:

• Turn the air conditioning up a few degrees or turn it off. Cold, dry air irritates your mucous membranes.
• Sleep on your side. Place an extra pillow behind your back so you don't roll back.
• Do you breathe through your mouth at night? Mouth tape keeps your lips gently closed, so you automatically breathe through your nose. Only use mouth tape if your nose is clear.

Snoring in a tent, camper, or hostel

Camping and hostels are the toughest test. Tent fabric and bunk beds do not block sound. Travel companions are sometimes only a meter away.

What helps:

• Bring your aid from home and stick to your routine. If you benefit from mouth tape or a snoring mouthpiece at home, you will also benefit from it at the campsite.
• If your lower jaw drops, choose a snoring mouthpiece. It keeps your jaw a few millimeters forward, giving your airway more space.
• Give your travel companions earplugs. Let's be honest: sometimes the quickest win is ensuring the other person can continue to sleep peacefully.

Which aid should you bring?

An aid only works if it matches the cause of your snoring. This table helps you choose. Everything in the table fits in your hand luggage.

Are you unsure which cause applies to you? On our page comparing anti-snoring aids, we list all options side by side.

"Nasal strips don't help with snoring" – is that true?

You sometimes read online that nasal strips don't do anything for snoring. That statement deserves nuance. Nasal strips work in one place: your nose. They pull your nostrils open a bit wider, allowing air to flow through your nose more easily.

Does your snoring sound primarily come from the back of your throat, while your nose is clear? Then you indeed won't notice much of a difference with a nasal strip. Do you snore because your nose is blocked or narrow, causing you to breathe through your mouth? Then a nasal strip actually addresses the source.

That is precisely why tackling snoring always starts with the cause, not the product. Be honest with yourself: where is the problem? When in doubt, your doctor can take a look.

What can you do before your trip?

You can partially prevent snoring on vacation while you're still at home. This preparation requires little effort:

1. Test your aid at home. Try mouth tape or a snoring mouthpiece at least a week before departure. This way, you get used to it and know if it works for you.
2. Limit alcohol in the final hours before sleep. Even on vacation, this makes an immediate difference.
3. Train your side-sleeping. Consciously sleep on your side at home, possibly with a pillow behind your back.
4. Treat a cold or allergy in time. If you leave with a stuffy nose, your trip starts at a disadvantage.

More general tips for sleeping while traveling can be found in our blog about sleeping while traveling.

When should you see a doctor?

Snoring is usually harmless. However, it is sometimes a sign of something else, such as obstructive sleep apnea. This is where your breathing repeatedly stops briefly during sleep.

Contact your doctor if, in addition to snoring, you recognize the following:

• your partner notices breathing stops
• you wake up at night gasping for air;
• you are extremely tired during the day, even after a long night;
• you wake up regularly with a headache.

In that case, do not use mouth tape and speak to your doctor first. More background information about snoring and when to seek help can also be found at Thuisarts.nl.

In summary

Snoring while traveling almost always has an identifiable reason: alcohol, dry air, a stuffy nose, or a different sleeping position. Those who know their own cause can specifically bring something that fits, from nasal strips to mouth tape or a snoring mouthpiece, as well as earplugs for their travel companion. Don't expect a miracle, but you can expect noticeably quieter nights if the cause and solution align. Do the symptoms persist or do you suspect sleep apnea? See your doctor first.

Want to discover which solution fits your sleep situation? Take our non-binding sleep test or view the anti-snoring products that you can easily take in your hand luggage.