How common is snoring, who does it most, and when is it a sign of something more serious? This page collects the most useful numbers about snoring and sleep apnea in one place. Every figure comes from a published study or an official record, and each one links to its source so you can check it.
In this article
The short answer
- About 4 in 10 adults say they snore regularly: 38% of men and 30% of women in a 2019 UK survey.
- About 936 million adults aged 30 to 69 worldwide have obstructive sleep apnea, and 425 million have the moderate to severe form.
- Most sleep apnea is never diagnosed: in one large US study, 82% of men and 93% of women with moderate to severe sleep apnea had no diagnosis.
- Weight, smoking, a blocked nose, alcohol and sleeping on your back all make snoring more likely.
- When snoring was treated in a small sleep-lab study, bed partners got an estimated hour more sleep a night.
How many people snore
- 40% of adults in the UK said they snore regularly, in a telephone survey of a representative national sample (Ohayon and colleagues, BMJ, 1997).
- 38% of men and 30.4% of women said they snore at night in a 2019 survey of 1,239 UK adults aged 18 to 100 (Lechner and colleagues, Sleep Medicine).
- In the same survey, 8.7% of men and 5.6% of women said they stop breathing at night. In the 1997 UK survey, only 3.8% reported breathing pauses, which the authors call a highly significant increase over 20 years.
- Regular snoring was linked with being male, being 25 or older, obesity, daytime sleepiness, large amounts of caffeine and smoking (Ohayon, 1997).
Source: Lechner M, et al. Sleep Med, 2019 (survey of 1,239 UK adults)
Source: Ohayon MM, et al. BMJ, 1997; Lechner M, et al. Sleep Med, 2019
Snoring is common enough that it is easy to dismiss. But the same surveys show how often it travels with breathing pauses, which is why the next section matters.
Snoring and sleep apnea
Not everyone who snores has sleep apnea, but loud, regular snoring is one of its main signs. In obstructive sleep apnea, the airway closes again and again during sleep, and breathing stops or becomes very shallow for seconds at a time.
- 936 million adults aged 30 to 69 worldwide are estimated to have mild to severe obstructive sleep apnea, and 425 million to have moderate to severe sleep apnea (Benjafield and colleagues, Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 2019).
- In the US, moderate to severe sleep apnea is estimated to affect 10% of men aged 30 to 49, 17% of men aged 50 to 70, 3% of women aged 30 to 49 and 9% of women aged 50 to 70 (Peppard and colleagues, American Journal of Epidemiology, 2013).
- Those rates rose by 14% to 55%, depending on the group, between 1988–1994 and 2007–2010, a rise the authors link to rising obesity (Peppard, 2013).
- In the first Wisconsin Sleep Cohort study, 24% of men and 9% of women aged 30 to 60 had at least mild sleep-disordered breathing (Young and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 1993).
Source: Benjafield AV, et al. Lancet Respir Med, 2019
Source: Peppard PE, et al. Am J Epidemiol, 2013 (estimates for 2007 to 2010)
Most sleep apnea goes undiagnosed
- 82% of men and 93% of women with moderate to severe sleep apnea syndrome had not been diagnosed, in a study of 4,925 employed US adults who had good access to health care (Young and colleagues, Sleep, 1997).
- After menopause, women had 3.5 times the odds of moderate to severe sleep-disordered breathing compared with before menopause, after allowing for age, weight and smoking (Young and colleagues, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2003).
Source: Young T, et al. Sleep, 1997 (4,925 employed US adults)
Source: Young T, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2003
What makes snoring more likely
Weight
- A 10% weight gain predicted about a 32% rise in breathing pauses per hour of sleep, and a 6-fold increase in the odds of developing moderate to severe sleep-disordered breathing (Peppard and colleagues, JAMA, 2000).
- A 10% weight loss predicted a 26% fall in breathing pauses per hour (Peppard, 2000).
Source: Peppard PE, et al. JAMA, 2000
Smoking, including other people’s smoke
- Current smokers had 2.29 times the odds of snoring of people who had never smoked. Former smokers had no extra risk once other factors were accounted for (Wetter and colleagues, Archives of Internal Medicine, 1994).
- In 15,555 adults in five northern European countries, loud habitual snoring affected 24.0% of current smokers, 20.3% of former smokers and 13.7% of never-smokers (Franklin and colleagues, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2004).
- Among never-smokers, 19.8% of those exposed to smoke at home every day snored habitually, compared with 13.3% of those not exposed (Franklin, 2004).
Source: Franklin KA, et al. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2004 (15,555 adults aged 25 to 54)
A blocked nose
- People with nasal congestion due to allergy were 1.8 times as likely to have moderate to severe sleep-disordered breathing, and people with frequent nighttime rhinitis symptoms were significantly more likely to snore habitually (Young and colleagues, Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 1997). Read our guide to nasal sprays for snoring.
Alcohol
- Across 13 studies, drinking alcohol raised breathing pauses by about 4 events per hour on average and lowered the lowest overnight oxygen level, in people prone to snoring and sleep apnea (Burgos-Sanchez and colleagues, Otolaryngology–Head and Neck Surgery, 2020).
Sleeping on your back
- Most snorers without sleep apnea snored less often and less loudly when they lay on their side rather than their back. Many people with sleep apnea kept snoring on their side (Nakano and colleagues, Sleep, 2003).
- Even among people with severe sleep apnea, 35.3% had at least twice as many breathing pauses on their back as on their side (Oksenberg and colleagues, Sleep and Breathing, 2020). See the best sleep position for snoring.
Snoring in pregnancy and in children
- 34% of 1,719 women in the third trimester of pregnancy reported snoring, and 25% said it started during the pregnancy (O’Brien and colleagues, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, 2012).
- Snoring that started during pregnancy was linked with 2.36 times the odds of high blood pressure in pregnancy and 1.59 times the odds of preeclampsia. Snoring that started before pregnancy was not (O’Brien, 2012).
Source: O'Brien LM, et al. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 2012 (1,719 women)
- About 7.45% of children snore, according to parents, in a meta-analysis. 1.5% to 6% “always” snore, and 1% to 4% have obstructive sleep apnea (Lumeng and Chervin, Proceedings of the American Thoracic Society, 2008).
How snoring affects the person beside you
- When 10 men with suspected sleep apnea were treated with CPAP partway through the night, their wives’ arousals fell from 21 to 12 per hour and their sleep efficiency rose from 74% to 87%. The authors estimate this as about 62 extra minutes of sleep a night (Beninati and colleagues, Mayo Clinic Proceedings, 1999).
Source: Beninati W, et al. Mayo Clin Proc, 1999 (10 couples)
- In a study of 16 women who slept beside snorers, one night of sleeping alone gave less light sleep and fewer awakenings, but did not change total sleep time or deep sleep. The authors conclude that sleep fragmentation increased in women sleeping with snorers, but that one night apart did not improve sleep much (Blumen and colleagues, European Respiratory Journal, 2009).
If you are the one lying awake, read how to sleep with someone who snores and which earplugs work for a snoring partner.
Health risks linked to sleep apnea
- People with moderate to severe sleep-disordered breathing at the start of a 4-year study had 2.89 times the odds of having high blood pressure at the end, compared with people with none (Peppard and colleagues, New England Journal of Medicine, 2000).
- Drivers with obstructive sleep apnea are at clearly higher risk of car crashes. A systematic review estimated the crash rate ratio at 1.21 to 4.89 (Tregear and colleagues, Journal of Clinical Sleep Medicine, 2009).
Source: Peppard PE, et al. N Engl J Med, 2000
What helps, in numbers
- In a randomized trial of 39 people who snored, 3 months of daily mouth and throat exercises cut the snore index (snores louder than 36 dB per hour) from 99.5 to 48.2, about half. The control group did not change significantly (Ieto and colleagues, Chest, 2015). Try our tongue exercises for snoring.
- Across nine adult studies, myofunctional therapy (mouth and throat exercises) cut breathing pauses by about 50%, and snoring fell from 14% to 4% of total sleep time (Camacho and colleagues, Sleep, 2015).
- Of 242 FDA clearances for anti-snoring mouthpieces and jaw devices, none is an “approval”, and every consumer mouthpiece we checked that mentions sleep apnea is cleared for that use by prescription only. Read our study of which snoring mouthpieces are FDA cleared.
Source: Ieto V, et al. Chest, 2015 (randomized trial)
Source: Camacho M, et al. Sleep, 2015 (meta-analysis)
Why do you snore?
Snoring has different causes, and each one has a different fix. Our free snore quiz finds yours in about a minute with four simple checks.
Take the snore quiz →When to see a doctor
See a doctor if someone has noticed that your breathing stops and starts in your sleep, if you wake up gasping or choking, if you snore loudly most nights, or if you feel very sleepy in the day. These are signs of sleep apnea, which can be diagnosed with a sleep test and treated. New, loud snoring during pregnancy is also worth mentioning to your midwife or doctor.
How we chose these numbers
We used studies listed in PubMed and our own analysis of FDA records, and checked each figure against the study’s published summary. Where studies measured different things, we say what was measured: “snoring” in surveys is what people report about themselves, while sleep apnea figures come from overnight sleep tests. Some studies are older, but they remain the main population studies on these questions. We will update this page when newer data appear.
Using these statistics: journalists, bloggers and students are welcome to use any number on this page. Please cite the original study and link to this page. If you spot a mistake, tell us through our contact page.
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of people snore?
About 40% of adults say they snore regularly. In a 2019 UK survey, 38% of men and 30.4% of women said they snore at night.
Do men snore more than women?
Yes. In the 2019 UK survey, 38% of men and 30.4% of women said they snore. Moderate to severe sleep apnea is also more common in men: US estimates are 10% of men and 3% of women aged 30 to 49, and 17% of men and 9% of women aged 50 to 70. The gap narrows after menopause.
Is snoring a sign of sleep apnea?
It can be, but not always. Loud, regular snoring with pauses in breathing, gasping or daytime sleepiness is a reason to get a sleep test.
Can losing weight stop snoring?
It often helps. In a large study, losing 10% of body weight was linked with a 26% fall in breathing pauses during sleep.
Sources
- Ohayon MM, et al. Snoring and breathing pauses during sleep: telephone interview survey of a United Kingdom population sample. BMJ, 1997.
- Lechner M, et al. Snoring and breathing pauses during sleep: interview survey of a United Kingdom population sample reveals a significant increase in the rates of sleep apnoea and obesity over the last 20 years. Sleep Med, 2019.
- Benjafield AV, et al. Estimation of the global prevalence and burden of obstructive sleep apnoea: a literature-based analysis. Lancet Respir Med, 2019.
- Peppard PE, et al. Increased prevalence of sleep-disordered breathing in adults. Am J Epidemiol, 2013.
- Young T, et al. The occurrence of sleep-disordered breathing among middle-aged adults. N Engl J Med, 1993.
- Young T, et al. Estimation of the clinically diagnosed proportion of sleep apnea syndrome in middle-aged men and women. Sleep, 1997.
- Young T, et al. Menopausal status and sleep-disordered breathing in the Wisconsin Sleep Cohort Study. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2003.
- Peppard PE, et al. Longitudinal study of moderate weight change and sleep-disordered breathing. JAMA, 2000.
- Wetter DW, et al. Smoking as a risk factor for sleep-disordered breathing. Arch Intern Med, 1994.
- Franklin KA, et al. The influence of active and passive smoking on habitual snoring. Am J Respir Crit Care Med, 2004.
- Young T, et al. Nasal obstruction as a risk factor for sleep-disordered breathing. J Allergy Clin Immunol, 1997.
- Burgos-Sanchez C, et al. Impact of alcohol consumption on snoring and sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Otolaryngol Head Neck Surg, 2020.
- Nakano H, et al. Effects of body position on snoring in apneic and nonapneic snorers. Sleep, 2003.
- Oksenberg A, et al. Prevalence and characteristics of positional obstructive sleep apnea (POSA) in patients with severe OSA. Sleep Breath, 2020.
- O’Brien LM, et al. Pregnancy-onset habitual snoring, gestational hypertension, and preeclampsia: prospective cohort study. Am J Obstet Gynecol, 2012.
- Lumeng JC, Chervin RD. Epidemiology of pediatric obstructive sleep apnea. Proc Am Thorac Soc, 2008.
- Beninati W, et al. The effect of snoring and obstructive sleep apnea on the sleep quality of bed partners. Mayo Clin Proc, 1999.
- Blumen M, et al. Effect of sleeping alone on sleep quality in female bed partners of snorers. Eur Respir J, 2009.
- Peppard PE, et al. Prospective study of the association between sleep-disordered breathing and hypertension. N Engl J Med, 2000.
- Tregear S, et al. Obstructive sleep apnea and risk of motor vehicle crash: systematic review and meta-analysis. J Clin Sleep Med, 2009.
- Ieto V, et al. Effects of oropharyngeal exercises on snoring: a randomized trial. Chest, 2015.
- Camacho M, et al. Myofunctional therapy to treat obstructive sleep apnea: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Sleep, 2015.
- SleepGood. Which snoring mouthpieces are FDA cleared? 242 records checked. 2026.
This article is general information, not medical advice. See our medical disclaimer.
