If your father snored, your grandmother snored and now you snore, it is natural to wonder whether it simply runs in the family. It does, partly. Twin and family studies have measured the inherited share, and a very large UK study has found dozens of gene regions linked to snoring.
But "partly" is the important word. Genes seem to explain somewhere between about a quarter and a half of the differences in snoring between people, and some of that works through things like face shape and body weight. The rest comes from factors you can change.
Here is what the research shows about how much snoring is inherited, what exactly gets passed down, and what you can still do about it.
What Twin Studies Show
Twin studies are the classic way to separate genes from environment. Identical twins share all their genes; non-identical twins share about half on average, like ordinary brothers and sisters. If identical twins are more alike for a trait than non-identical twins, that extra similarity points to genes.
The UK female twin study. Published in Twin Research in 2004, this study sent a medical questionnaire to 6,600 pairs of female twins on a national volunteer twin register in the UK. In all, 1,937 pairs could be analysed: 933 identical and 1,004 non-identical, with an average age of 51.
Identical twins were more alike than non-identical twins for symptoms of sleep apnoea. Heritability was estimated at 52 percent for disruptive snoring, with a 95 percent confidence interval of 36 to 68 percent. The estimate dropped only slightly after adjusting for other influences on snoring.
The US male twin study. An American study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in 2001 looked at 1,560 pairs of male twins with an average age of 74. Of these men, 26 percent were habitual snorers.
Here, genetic factors accounted for 23 percent of the variability in self-reported snoring, 40 percent of the variance in daytime sleepiness and 64 percent of the variance in obesity.
Why the numbers differ. The two studies looked at different people (middle aged women in one, men in their seventies in the other) and asked about snoring in different ways. Heritability is not a fixed property of snoring; it describes a particular group at a particular time. Taken together, the studies suggest genes account for a meaningful share, roughly a quarter to a half, and environment and life habits account for the rest.
Snoring and Sleep Apnoea Cluster in Families
Family studies ask a different question: if one person has a breathing problem in sleep, how often do their relatives have one too?
A family study published in the American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine in 1995 measured breathing at night with in-home monitoring in 561 members of 91 families. Some families were identified through a person with diagnosed sleep apnoea; others were neighbourhood families with no known sleep apnoea.
Of the 91 families, 32 (35 percent) had two or more members with sleep-disordered breathing, 30 (33 percent) had one, and 29 had none. Disturbed breathing at night was more common among relatives of people with sleep apnoea (21 percent) than among neighbourhood control subjects (12 percent).
So if a parent or sibling has been diagnosed with sleep apnoea, your own odds are higher than average, and loud snoring deserves a little more attention than it otherwise might.
What Is Actually Inherited: Face, Jaw and Airway
There is no simple instruction in your DNA that says "snore". What families seem to pass down is the shape of the structures around the airway.
A study from the University of Edinburgh, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine in 1995, compared 51 first-degree relatives (parents, brothers, sisters or children) of people with sleep apnoea against 51 controls matched for age, sex, height and weight. To avoid simply measuring inherited obesity, the researchers only recruited relatives of patients whose body mass index was under 30.
More snoring. 24 of the relatives reported snoring, compared with 7 of the controls.
More breathing disruption. Relatives had a median of 13 apnoeas and hypopnoeas per hour of sleep, against 4 per hour in controls, and more arousals from sleep (30 per hour against 17).
Different anatomy. Relatives had narrower upper airways, with the upper and lower jaws set further back, and longer soft palates with wider uvulae.
The authors concluded that sleep apnoea has a strong familial component, and that the family tendency may be caused by differences in facial structure.
That makes intuitive sense, because these are structural features rather than habits. A jaw set further back can leave less room behind the tongue, and a longer soft palate gives the airflow more tissue to vibrate. Neither guarantees snoring, but both reduce the margin before it starts.
Weight is the other inherited piece. In the US twin study, genes explained 64 percent of the variation in obesity. There was a genetic link between obesity and snoring, but for the most part the genetic influence on snoring was separate from the genes for obesity.
The Genes Themselves: What the UK Biobank Found
One of the largest genetic studies of snoring, published in Nature Communications in 2020, used data from about 408,000 people in the UK Biobank, of whom about 152,000 were snorers. That is more than a third of the sample.
Many genes, each with a small effect. The study identified 42 regions of the genome significantly linked to snoring, and gene based analyses pointed to 173 genes, including ones active in the brain, cerebellum, lungs, blood and oesophagus. There is no single "snoring gene".
A smaller share than the twin studies. The common genetic variants measured in the study explained about 10 percent of the liability to snoring. That figure is lower than the twin estimates partly because it only counts the specific variants the study measured, whereas twin studies capture all genetic influence together.
Shared genetics with lifestyle. The genetic signal for snoring overlapped with the genetics of body mass index, alcohol intake and smoking, as well as some psychiatric traits. In other words, part of the inherited tendency to snore may run through inherited tendencies in weight, drinking and smoking.
Weight may be a cause. Using a technique called Mendelian randomisation, which uses genes as a natural experiment, the authors found evidence suggesting a potential causal relationship between higher body mass index and snoring.
The study also showed that a combined genetic score could help predict snoring and probable sleep apnoea in a separate group of about 8,000 Australians. That is a research tool, not something you can use at home to decide whether you will snore.
Inherited Risk Is Not Destiny
The same research that shows a genetic contribution also shows its limits.
In the UK twin study, the best fitting model combined genetic effects with unique environmental factors: the experiences and habits that differ even between twins raised together. Even with a heritability of 52 percent, nearly half the variation in disruptive snoring was not explained by genes.
And the UK Biobank findings suggest that some of what looks inherited works through weight, alcohol and smoking, all of which can change.
A useful way to think about it: your genes set the starting width of your airway and how much margin you have. Your habits decide how much of that margin you use up. Two siblings with the same jaw shape can snore very differently if one drinks most evenings, smokes and sleeps on their back, and the other does none of those things.
What You Can Still Change
Weight. If weight has crept up, it adds to an airway that is already narrow by design, and the genetic evidence above points to body mass index as a possible cause rather than a bystander. We cover how much loss makes a difference in does losing weight stop snoring.
Smoking. Smoking is strongly linked with habitual snoring, as we set out in does smoking make snoring worse.
Alcohol. A drink late in the evening relaxes the throat muscles, which matters more if your airway starts out narrow.
Sleeping position. Lying on your back lets the tongue and soft palate fall backwards. If your jaw is set further back, side sleeping is one of the simplest things to try.
Your nose. A blocked or narrow nose pushes you towards mouth breathing, which narrows an airway that may already be tight. A drug free nasal strip lifts the sides of the nose open with a spring band; Massner's medium nasal strips are made for narrower noses, and a large size is available too. Strips help the nasal part of snoring only, not a narrow throat.
Your jaw. If your lower jaw sits further back, a dentist fitted mouthpiece that holds the jaw forward during sleep may help. We look at the evidence in do anti-snoring mouthpieces work.
Your partner. If snoring runs in your family, it may be a long term project. Soft silicone ear plugs can protect the person beside you while you work on the rest.
If Snoring Runs in Your Family
A family history of snoring is common and usually just means your airway has less spare room than average. A family history of diagnosed sleep apnoea is more significant, because the family studies above show it clusters in relatives.
See a GP if you snore loudly and any of the following apply:
- Someone has seen you stop breathing, gasp or choke during sleep.
- You are very tired during the day despite enough time in bed.
- You often wake with a headache.
- You doze off when sitting still or while driving.
- A parent, brother or sister has been diagnosed with sleep apnoea.
Mention the family history at the appointment; it is useful information. If you are worried about a child who snores, the causes and the NHS route are different, and we cover them in is it normal for a child to snore.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Is snoring inherited from your parents?
Partly. Twin studies estimate that genes account for about 23 percent of the variation in snoring in older men and about 52 percent for disruptive snoring in women. What is passed down seems to be anatomy such as jaw position, soft palate length and airway width, along with a tendency towards higher body weight.
If my parents snore, will I snore?
Not necessarily. Your odds are higher, but genes explain only part of the picture, and habits such as drinking, smoking, sleeping position and weight make a large difference. Two people with similar anatomy can snore very differently depending on how much of their airway margin those habits use up.
Is there a snoring gene?
No single gene. A UK Biobank study of about 408,000 people found 42 regions of the genome linked to snoring and 173 genes, each with a small effect. Together, the common variants measured explained about 10 percent of the liability to snoring, and some overlapped with the genetics of weight, alcohol intake and smoking.
Can you inherit sleep apnoea?
The tendency clusters in families. In one family study, sleep-disordered breathing was found in 21 percent of relatives of people with sleep apnoea against 12 percent of neighbourhood controls. Another found relatives had narrower airways, jaws set further back and longer soft palates. If a close relative has sleep apnoea, tell your GP about loud snoring.
Can you stop snoring if it is genetic?
Often you can reduce it. Even the higher twin estimate, 52 percent, leaves nearly half the variation in snoring down to other factors. Losing excess weight, stopping smoking, cutting late alcohol, sleeping on your side and keeping the nose clear all help, and a dentist fitted mouthpiece may help if your lower jaw sits further back.
Does jaw shape cause snoring?
It can contribute. In an Edinburgh study, relatives of people with sleep apnoea had narrower upper airways with both jaws set further back, and longer soft palates with wider uvulae, compared with matched controls. They also snored more, with 24 of 51 relatives reporting snoring against 7 of 51 controls.
Sources
- Desai AV et al., Genetic influences in self-reported symptoms of obstructive sleep apnoea and restless legs: a twin study, Twin Research, 2004
- Carmelli D et al., Genetic factors in self-reported snoring and excessive daytime sleepiness: a twin study, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 2001
- Redline S et al., The familial aggregation of obstructive sleep apnea, American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 1995
- Mathur R and Douglas NJ, Family studies in patients with the sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome, Annals of Internal Medicine, 1995
- Campos AI et al., Insights into the aetiology of snoring from observational and genetic investigations in the UK Biobank, Nature Communications, 2020
This article is general information, not medical advice. If you snore loudly, stop breathing during sleep, or have a close relative with sleep apnoea, speak to your GP about whether you need a sleep assessment.
