Some people wake up frequently to the sound of their own snoring, while others remain largely unaware of it. The ability to hear one’s snoring can shift over the course of the night. A sleep medicine and neurology expert from a major university notes that people vary in how sensitive they are to their own sounds during sleep (LiveScience).
Experts explain that each person carries a different hearing threshold for nighttime noises, which influences how easily they wake when they hear a sound. The likelihood of waking depends not only on the loudness of the snoring but also on its characteristics—its frequency, rhythm, and pattern. For some, snoring may be barely perceptible, while for others it can trigger awakenings even at lower volumes. This variability helps explain why some individuals sleep through their own snoring while others wake from it (LiveScience).
Snoring and sleep disruption are also linked to the body’s natural sleep stages. Sleep is divided into slow-wave and rapid eye movement (REM) phases, cycling several times through the night. REM sleep is typically associated with more intense snoring for many people. During this stage, brain activity rises and rapid eye movements become more frequent. Heightened sensitivity to environmental changes during REM can also increase the chance of waking from one’s own snoring. In contrast, non-REM sleep can present quieter periods where snoring is less likely to disturb awakening, though it remains a common sleep-disrupting factor across sleep stages for many individuals (LiveScience).
As the night progresses, the pattern and intensity of snoring can shift. Factors such as body position, nasal congestion, throat muscle tone, and overall airway anatomy play roles in how loudly and regularly snoring occurs. Participants who snore more loudly during REM sleep may experience more frequent awakenings, while others may notice subtle changes in snoring that still influence sleep quality without fully waking them. Understanding these patterns can help individuals and healthcare providers identify strategies to reduce disruption and improve restorative sleep (LiveScience).
Inquiries about snoring sometimes lead to questions about underlying health conditions. Snoring can be a symptom associated with respiratory or sleep disorders, but it can also occur in healthy individuals under certain circumstances. Routine evaluation may consider factors such as nasal obstruction, obesity, alcohol use near bedtime, smoking, and sleep posture. A comprehensive assessment helps determine whether snoring is primarily a benign trait or a signal that warrants further investigation for conditions like sleep apnea or other breathing-related issues. When snoring is accompanied by daytime sleepiness, morning headaches, or loud, frequent pauses in breathing during sleep, medical consultation is advised to explore potential causes and appropriate treatment options (LiveScience).