My partner has been getting increasingly fed up with my snoring recently.
It’s never really been all that bad, although it has been there to a degree.
I’ve always been able to remedy it with a couple of store-bought snoring treatments.
Recently, though, I’ve been snoring quite a lot more, and we couldn’t work out why it was.
My partner was finding it harder and harder to sleep, and it occurred to her that I had been drinking coffee later and later into the day as I’d been working on a massive project.
I wondered if this was the cause—so I looked into it.
So, does coffee make you snore?
There is no direct evidence to suggest that a link between coffee and snoring. Researchers have had no interest in pursuing this avenue since early investigation suggested no link whatsoever. Caffeine may be linked, tangentially, to your snoring, if it’s making it more difficult for you to sleep.
So, it’s definitely not as simple as saying coffee makes you snore.
There are other factors at play, and if you think you’ve discovered a link, you may need to rethink what the actual problem is.
If anything, it’s not coffee, but just anything caffeinated.
Let’s look further into this.
Does coffee cause snoring?
No, is the simple answer.
As I said, no evidence has been found to link coffee itself to snoring itself.
There may be other, indirect links as I will get into, but we should clear this up.
Coffee won’t make you snore—this is just a rumor.
That said, it probably won’t help either.
If you already have a problem with snoring, then drinking something like coffee any time before bed is going to be a bad idea.
Ignoring the main issue for a second, coffee is a pretty strong substance in a number of ways.
If you have even a remotely sensitive digestive system, then coffee can be a huge disruption to the system, causing indigestion and heartburn.
These things can easily prevent sound sleeping and cause snoring.
Beyond that, though, the main problem is caffeine.
For me, I can’t drink coffee after midday or I won’t get to sleep.
It’s different for everyone, but no one can drink coffee right before bed and expect a sound nights sleep.
Caffeine will again keep you from getting a deep sleep, which is often considered a cause of snoring.
So, it’s not about coffee—it’s about caffeine.
Can coffee stop snoring?
Again, the simple answer is no.
Interestingly, the reverse of this rumor exists as well, with a common idea being that coffee can also stop snoring if drunk in the right amounts.
Again, there is no direct empirical evidence that supports this hypothesis.
That said, for some people, a bit of coffee can have an overall positive effect.
If drunk in the morning it can help give you the energy you need at the busiest points of the day, and allow you to naturally come down later in the day.
This can help with a less disturbed sleep, which is better for snoring.
But, again, there is no direct link between coffee and snoring, and if you drink coffee before bed, you are not going to help the problem and may make it worse.
Does caffeine make you snore?
This is the true issue at play here.
Again, we cannot say for certain that consuming caffeine shortly before bed leads directly to snoring.
However, what we can say is that there seems to be a link between the level of snoring and the deepness of the sleep.
Caffeine will make it harder for you to get into a deep sleep, and this may make you more likely to start snoring.
It can’t be said for certain, but there are studies and evidence to link these two things.
Again, though, nothing like a hard and fast rule is suggested.
When to stop drinking coffee, then?
When should I stop drinking coffee before bed?
My personal advice would be not to have more than one cup of coffee after midday.
Depending on the strength, the caffeine can have real staying power.
The general advice is that you shouldn’t drink coffee four hours before you go to bed.
This gives you a reasonable chance to get all the caffeine out of your system.
It’s different for everyone, though, so just don’t drink coffee too late—or switch to decaf!
If you are in any way a problem sleeper, then, coffee is not going to help if you’re drinking it any time near your bedtime.
The coffee itself is not necessarily the problem but the caffeine.
The caffeine will interrupt your ability to sleep soundly, and this can lead to snoring or general sleep discomfort in a few different ways.
Drop the coffee at least 6 hours before you go to bed to be completely sure it isn’t going to get in the way.