My partner snores like a small chainsaw. I love them dearly, but there were nights I moved to the couch, and nights I just lay there watching the ceiling, counting the seconds between snorts. Sleep deprivation made me cranky, and cranky made me a worse partner than the snoring ever did.

We fixed it with a combination of small changes, and I sleep through the night now.

Change the Sleep Position

Snoring is worst on the back. When my partner rolls onto their back, the snoring starts within minutes. The fix was a simple trick: sew a tennis ball into the back of a pajama shirt, or use one of the wearable pillows that nudge you to sleep on your side.

We used a wedge pillow under their head first, which helped some. The side-sleeping nudge helped more.

White Noise Beats Earplugs

Earplugs block the snoring but they also block everything else, and I would wake up disoriented. A white noise machine or a fan at medium speed does the opposite. It fills the room with steady sound that covers the snoring without sealing your ears.

I run a fan and a white noise app on my phone. The combination covers most nights.

Treat the Cause a Little

Snoring gets worse with a few things you can actually change:

• Alcohol before bed relaxes the throat muscles and worsens snoring
• Being overweight puts pressure on the airway
• Nasal congestion forces mouth breathing, which snorts

My partner cut out the evening drink on weeknights and the difference was noticeable by the second week.

Know When It Is Serious

If the snoring includes gasping or pauses in breathing, that can be sleep apnea, which is a real health condition, not just a noise problem. That deserves a doctor visit. Loud, steady snoring without pauses is annoying, but pauses are a different story.

The wedge pillow, the side-sleeping nudge, and the fan cost us under fifty dollars total. We both sleep better, and I am a lot more fun to be around in the morning.