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Does Snoring Mean Sleep Apnea?
- Snoring doesn’t always mean sleep apnea. Many people snore without any negative consequences for their health.
- Loud and frequent snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, especially if it’s accompanied by gasping, snorting, or choking.
- A sleep study, either in a sleep clinic or at home, is the only way to know for sure whether you have sleep apnea.
While almost everyone snores on occasion, persistent snoring may be a sign of sleep apnea, a common breathing condition that affects around 30 million people in the United States. Distinguishing between snoring and sleep apnea is essential because, if left untreated, sleep apnea can have long-term effects on a person’s health and quality of life.
In this article, we explain key details about snoring and sleep apnea, including how they’re different, how to find out if your snoring is linked to sleep apnea, and when to see a doctor.
Snoring vs. Sleep Apnea: What’s the Difference?
Snoring is a sound produced by a partially obstructed airway, while sleep apnea is a disorder involving breathing interruptions that interfere with sleep. Snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, but not everyone who snores has sleep apnea.
Snoring occurs when noise is produced by the fluttering of tissue in the airway, and it happens when the airway becomes narrowed. Almost everyone snores from time to time, and even habitual snoring often has few or no health consequences (even if it can be bothersome to a bed partner).
Obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) is the most common type of sleep apnea, and it involves breathing lapses that occur because of a narrow or collapsed airway. Impaired breathing causes oxygen levels to drop, provoking recurring awakenings that are so brief that they may not be remembered at all.
These awakenings reduce sleep quality, leading to OSA symptoms like daytime drowsiness and impaired concentration. People with untreated OSA are also at a heightened risk of high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, and other health complications.
Loud and frequent snoring is a common symptom of OSA, but not all snoring is linked to OSA. Even further, not all people with OSA snore.
Is Snoring Sleep Apnea?
Snoring isn’t the same thing as sleep apnea. Many people snore without it having any impact on their sleep or overall health.
That said, snoring can be a sign of sleep apnea, especially if it’s loud and persistent. Other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea in adults may include:
- Gasping, choking, or snorting sounds during sleep or when waking up
- Feeling sleepy during the day or accidentally falling asleep during activities
- Difficulty concentrating or remembering things
- Recurrent morning headaches
- Fitful or restless sleep
- Frequent nighttime urination
Children with OSA often have different symptoms. In addition to persistent nighttime snoring, children may exhibit difficult or oppositional behaviors, have asthma that is hard to control, or develop high blood pressure.
Sleep apnea can’t be diagnosed by symptoms alone, so it’s important to talk with your doctor or a sleep specialist if you or a family member have signs of OSA.
How Do You Know if You Have Sleep Apnea?
Most often, a sleep study is necessary to diagnose obstructive sleep apnea. This can take place either in a sleep lab or at home. In the sleep lab, a set of sensors track key information, including your sleep stages, heart rate, breathing rate, brain waves, and muscle activity.
Results reflect the number of breathing disruptions you experience while you sleep and are used to diagnose and rate the severity of any sleep apnea detected.
- Mild sleep apnea: an average of 5 to 15 breathing disruptions per hour of sleep
- Moderate sleep apnea: 15 to 30 breathing disruptions per hour of sleep
- Severe sleep apnea: 30 or more breathing disruptions per hour of sleep
Sleep apnea can also be diagnosed with an at-home sleep test. At-home tests gather data about your breathing, pulse, and blood oxygen levels, and these tests are effective at diagnosing moderate to severe cases of OSA.
Will Treating Sleep Apnea Reduce Snoring?
For people diagnosed with obstructive sleep apnea, treatment for nighttime breathing problems should reduce or eliminate snoring .
The most common treatment for obstructive sleep apnea is positive airway pressure (PAP) delivered through a CPAP machine or similar device. A CPAP machine typically eliminates both snoring and obstructive sleep apnea by using air pressure to keep the airway open during sleep.
Research shows that other treatments for obstructive sleep apnea can also reduce snoring, including the use of an oral appliance, surgery, and lifestyle changes like changing medications and reducing alcohol consumption.
When to See a Doctor
Anyone concerned about snoring or sleep apnea should speak with a doctor, especially if snoring is accompanied by pauses in breathing during sleep or daytime tiredness. It’s also important to contact a doctor if snoring occurs alongside weight gain or changes in thinking or memory.
Many people are unaware of changes in their breathing during sleep. For this reason, it may be helpful to ask bed partners or roommates if they’ve noticed loud snoring or other symptoms of obstructive sleep apnea.
Doctors can assess snoring and other symptoms, prescribe tests to diagnose sleep apnea, and recommend appropriate treatment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can you have sleep apnea without snoring?
It’s possible to have sleep apnea without snoring. Studies have found that between 80% and 90% of people with obstructive sleep apnea snore, which means that as many as one in five people with OSA don’t snore.
In addition, people with other types of sleep apnea may not snore. For instance, snoring isn’t a common symptom of central sleep apnea (CSA), a type of sleep apnea caused by disrupted signals between the brain and breathing muscles.
Does CPAP stop snoring?
A continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) device can effectively stop snoring. CPAP machines are a common initial treatment for obstructive sleep apnea. However, CPAP therapy is rarely prescribed for snoring that isn’t linked to sleep apnea.
Do I need a sleep study if I snore?
You may need a sleep study if you snore and have signs of sleep apnea. For example, sleep testing may be recommended if you snore and also make gasping or choking sounds during sleep, experience excessive daytime sleepiness, or have heart disease or obesity.
Talk with a doctor or sleep specialist about your snoring, and they can determine whether further testing is necessary based on your symptoms and overall health.
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Rob writes about the intersection of sleep and mental health and previously worked at the National Cancer Institute.
Audrey Wells, MD attended University of Michigan Medical School and went on to train at Washington University School of Medicine in pediatrics and pediatric pulmonary medicine. It was during this time that she developed a specific interest in adult and pediatric sleep medicine. She returned to her home state of New Mexico to complete a sleep medicine fellowship.
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