by Jennifer Porterfield |
Last Updated: September 19, 2024 Many people are forever looking for the right pair of earplugs that will help them block out snoring, but few people succeed. Others have simply given up and just try to live with their snoring roommates or noisy neighbors, and instead move themselves to a different room.
This article will provide you with tips on how to stop someone snoring without waking them up, how to block out snoring without earplugs, and other useful suggestions on how to drown out and sleep through noises.
Table of Contents
How to Sleep Through Snoring and Other Noises
Now, of course, you’re not always going to be able to stop someone from snoring, especially if you’re not in the same room, or even flat/house. So, you may need to know how to block out snoring without earplugs. Here are our 6 ideas on how to drown out snoring and other noises throughout the night:
- Block outside noise
- Reduce inside noise
- Train yourself to sleep in noisy environments
- Approach neighbors
- Try ASMR
- Using different products
Block Outside Noise
Preparing for a good night’s sleep? Looking for a snoring blocker, snoring noise cancelling? There’s unfortunately always going to be some form of noise when you’re trying to get a good night’s sleep. The first idea is to block out the noise by soundproofing your bedroom.
A perfect bedroom for sleeping will generally be quiet, dark, and well ventilated. Soundproofing can be the final key to unlocking all of this. The steps you can take are:
- Soundproofing the door
- Soundproofing the window
- Soundproofing the wall
- Soundproofing the ceiling and floor
Soundproofing the Door
You may have shut your bedroom door but this doesn’t no sound can pass through it. When you have a door in any room, it’s basically like punching a massive hole in your wall. You can seal the hole by using a solid core door or if the hollow type is used, just add some mass by adding MDF, or fiberglass panel, or a soundproof blanket.
The most important step is to make sure there is no gap for sound to travel through by using Weatherstrips along the perimeter of your door and using a door sweep at the bottom. If you neglect these gaps, you will undoubtedly disturb your sleep.
These seals should block the sound from entering your room and on top of this, help to contain the warmth. In addition to this, the door sweep will close the path for any insects.
Soundproofing the Window
Just like with your door, you should seal the air gaps on your window using Weatherstrips. You may wish to invest in some good, thick curtains too so not only will the sound be absorbed but the light will not disturb your sleep too.
Soundproofing the Wall
If you are able to hear movements from the adjacent room, it is likely that you have a thin wall. Some people may wish to alter your wall’s entirety by adding green glue and drywall. However, there are non-invasive options you can try.
Hanging acoustic foams and soundproof blankets can significantly reduce the noise that bothers your sleep and acct as snoring noise canceling. You could also try placing huge furniture against the wall to increase its thickness such as your closet and bookshelf.
Soundproofing the Ceiling and Floor
Finally, you may wish to use acoustic foam on your floor or ceiling to help drowning out snoring and fading other noises. This is especially important where you live in an apartment above or below others.
Alternatively, you can minimize the noise transmitting through the floor by laying thick rugs or carpets on your flooring if you haven’t got any already.
We have a whole variety of soundproofing articles available on our website that may be of interest to you:
- How To Soundproof A Home Office
- How To Soundproof A Room For Recording
- How To Soundproof A Hollow Door
- Best Doors for Soundproofing
- How To Soundproof Apartments
- How To Make A Soundproof Box
- How To Soundproof A Bedroom Door
- How To Soundproof Between Existing Floors
- How To Soundproof A Bathroom
- How To Soundproof A Door
- How To Soundproof A Room From Outside Noise
- How To Soundproof A Bedroom
- Best Insulation For Soundproofing
- Best Soundproof Windows
- How To Soundproof An Apartment Door
- 10 Best Soundproof Curtains Reviewed – Do They Really Work?
- Soundproofing Spray Foam for Existing Walls
- Does Egg Carton Soundproofing Work?
- Best Lightweight Soundproofing Materials
Reduce Inside Noise
If only we lived in a world where snoring wasn’t a thing, right? Unfortunately, we have to deal with snoring and must figure out how to block out snoring, or how to sleep through snoring.
Of course, if you’re struggling to sleep because your partner, family, or housemate is snoring loudly, one of the first things you can try is stopping them from snoring. So, how to stop someone from snoring without waking them? There are two proven methods:
- Changing their sleeping position
- Supporting them to lead a healthy lifestyle
Changing Their Sleeping Position
Many people are liable to snoring more often than not because they’re lying on their back, and not so much on their side or stomach. You can politely suggest this to whomever, at least at the start of the night. If they roll onto their back later in the night, it may be worth seeing if you can gently roll them back onto their side without waking them up.
A rather unusual but successful trick is to sew a tennis ball into the back of their pajama top or t-shirt. Though this may seem crazy, it will certainly make sleeping on their back uncomfortable, limiting their ability to snore.
With modern-day technologies, there are even magnetic devices sold online that go either side of a pajama top or t-shirt. There are also anti-snoring belts that have lumps on one side. Both of these devices are designed to achieve the same purpose as the tennis ball trick – the only difference is that you will need to purchase them.
If they only sleep on their back, you should try experimenting with different pillow heights. Generally the lower the pillow the better. There are also specialist anti-snore pillows available on the market to buy which aim to keep the head and airways in a better position to remove snoring.
Support Them to Lead a Healthy Lifestyle
Snoring doesn’t just occur because of the position in which you’re sleeping. There are several risk factors that are thought to increase the likelihood, or the intensity, of snoring. For instance, being overweight is a massive factor. The British Snoring and Sleep Apnea Association state that obese people are three times more likely to snore.
And additional published research has shown that the following factors can also lead to snoring:
- Drinking alcohol
- Smoking
- Regular use of sleep medication or other forms of sedatives
- Narcotics
- Nasal congestion because of a cold, sinus infection, illness, or allergies
If any of these apply to your partner, family member, or housemate, then you can try to talk to them about the effect it might be having on their snoring and sleep, not just their health.
If they have allergies, such as dust mites, hay fever, or being allergic to animals, they must try to keep the bedroom clear of allergens.
Sometimes, no matter how much soundproofing in your bedroom you do and talking to the right persons responsible, noise finds mysterious ways to reach your ears. Since you find using foreign objects in your ears uncomfortable, earplugs are out of the options.
In these special cases, you must learn to adjust. Leading us to our next point…
Train Yourself to Sleep in Noisy Environments
If you can get accustomed to the sound, and train yourself to sleep in noisy environments, you’re winning!
An easy trick is to drink a warm beverage before sleep to help relax the body and the mind. Something with a low caffeine content like warm milk or tea is perfect. Alternatively, you can try breathing exercises. Inhale and exhale in 5 repetitions to slow down your heartbeat. This will, therefore, slowly relax your whole body and allow you to empty your mind and forget your worries after your reflection of the day.
Approach Neighbors
Frankly, some noise we hear in bed is man-made produced by inconsiderate neighbors making loud noises or snoring. Therefore, you will need to learn how to block out snoring without earplugs. Supposedly, it should be the easiest to solve, but in some cases, it will not be.
It is not rude to go to your neighbors and discuss the disturbance, especially if it’s lost sleep we are talking about. Be sure to talk to them nicely and see if they can tone down what they are doing because you have trouble sleeping with their volume.
If you are lucky enough for this to be a one-time event, brilliant. If not, you may need to take further action depending on the levels of noise and contact authorities. Of course, if it’s just drowning out snoring you’re concerned about, there’s not a lot you can do other than focusing on soundproofing.
Try ASMR
ASMR is not the most popular method but it can definitely help. ASMR stands for Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response and is a relatively new technique for helping people who have a hard time falling asleep.
This method basically involves a person watching video clips or listening to audio files that will give you a dreamy, tingling sensation. People who experience ASMR first-hand share that they have felt a euphoric sensation from neck to scalp which eventually leads them to fall asleep.
It is said that people who experience it are able to feel pure bliss before a calming sensation in the whole body system which allows them to fall asleep.
Using Different Products
Still wondering how to block out snoring or how to sleep through snoring to get a peaceful sleep? If none of the above works for you, it’s time you reach out and purchase one of the following products:
- Sleep pillow
- White noise machine
- Sleep headphones
- Essential oils
Sleep Pillow
Sure, all pillows are meant for sleeping. But you have to admit it, there are pillows out there that are specifically designed for people who do not fall asleep as fast as others do. There are certain pillows out there that will play music to signal your body to calm and relax when your head touches the pillow.
White Noise Machine
If you’re one busy bee who has no time for soundproofing your room but aspire to sleep in peace, a sound or white noise machine is what you need. This machine is specially designed to help anyone who is bothered by sound other than their own.
Sure it is a way to mask sound during the day, but depending on what sound you play, it can aid your sleep too. There is an available phone application as a white noise machine but expect that your battery is low the next morning so it may be worth investing in an actual machine.
I’m sure the majority of us would prefer listening to soft sounds like raindrops, ocean waves, or rustling leaves instead of the snoring or loud voices of our neighbors.
The white noise machine will be closer to you so you should be able to hear it clearer and use it as a snoring blocker or snoring noise canceling. Here’s an example of a white noise machine readily available on Amazon:
- ❤20 Non-Looping Sleep Sounds: White noise ,Brown noise, pink noise, blue noise, fan,brook, rain, ocean,bird and Bonfire,suitable for for Baby and Kids and Adults.
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Sleep Headphone
Somewhat similar to earplugs but different in that they’re far more comfortable. They’re designed for aiding sleep and to be worn like a headband that even side sleepers will be able to find comfortable.
They are generally made from a special fabric that is textured so that it is friendly to the skin with thin, padded & removable speakers that can play all sorts of music for sleep. For example:
- Audiobooks
- Meditation melody
- White noise
- Radio
Here’s an example of an Amazon choice sleep headphone readily available online:
- 【Sleep Headphones & Bluetooth Sleep Mask & Bluetooth Sports Headband 3 in 1】Perytong Bluetooth sleep headphones feature a soft headband design with wireless sleep headset inside, allow you to enjoy hands free music, and protect you from being disturbed by your mess hair and sweat. Sleeping headphones sports headband is perfect suitable for nap, air travel, gym, workout, running, yoga as well as sleeping. Bluetooth headband headphones is the cool tech gifts for men/ women/ family/ teens/ friends.
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
Essential Oils
Nowadays, essential oils have been gaining popularity for their numerous uses. One of the popular uses is the effect it has in aiding falling asleep. Cedarwood, Vetiver, and Lavender are the 3 most common essential oils known for having a calming effect on the body and allowing people to fall asleep peacefully.
You can purchase essential oils that you simply drop onto your pillows or rub on your temples. Otherwise, if you have a diffuser, you can purchase suitable oils like this sleep essential oil blend for the diffuser below, which is an Amazon bestseller:
- Aromatherapy Oils for Diffuser - Try our dream aromatherapy diffuser oils blend with lavender oil chamomile oil clary sage oil and ylang ylang essential oils for diffusers for home and travel use
Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
How can I block noise without earplugs?
To block out noise without earplugs, you will need to try to block outside noise with soundproofing, reduce inside noise of people snoring, train yourself to sleep in noisy environments and ignore the sound, try ASMR to help you sleep, or start using different products like essential oils, white noise machines, and sleeping headphones.
How do you completely block out snoring?
To completely block out snoring you will probably need to use some form of device like a white noise machine to drown out moderate snoring. Otherwise, it is advised to look towards earplugs or sleeping headphones to completely drown out louder snoring.
Does white noise drown out snoring?
Yes, a good white noise machine will be able to successfully drown out moderate but not loud snoring from a partner sleeping next to you. White noise machines tend to work well against snoring coming from a distance like a snoring roommate, snoring neighbor, or snoring dog.
How do you sleep with someone snoring?
To sleep with someone snoring, you will need to try not to focus on the sound of the snoring, which of course, will be easier said than done. You can try changing your partner’s position, or encourage a change of lifestyle to reduce their snoring. Otherwise, it is advised to wear earplugs, or listen to white noise, to cancel out the sound of the snooring. If none of the above works, well, it may be time to sleep in a different room!
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