Does Menopause Cause Snoring? Sleep Apnea Risk and More

Medically reviewed by Ellen Byars, MSN, WHNP, MSCP · Written by Suzanne Mooney · September 9, 2026

Not sure if it’s perimenopause? Check your symptoms and find out.

Key Takeaways

Snoring and sleep apnea risk can increase during and after menopause, with an estimated 20 out of every 100 women developing sleep apnea during this time.
Hormonal changes, including declining levels of estrogen and progesterone, may weaken airway muscle tone and make breathing during sleep harder for some women. Changes in body composition, such as where fat is stored, can also play a role in increasing the risk of sleep apnea after menopause.
If you notice persistent daytime fatigue, morning headaches, mood changes, or snoring that is new or ongoing, it is worth reaching out to your healthcare provider, as a sleep study can help determine whether sleep apnea may be a factor and what options might help.

Having a spouse, partner, or roommate tell you that you’re snoring can be hard to believe, especially if you never snored before reaching midlife. But snoring and sleep apnea risk can increase during and after menopause. In fact, an estimated 20 percent of women develop sleep apnea during menopause, and the risk is even higher after menopause.

So, what’s behind the change? Hormone fluctuations, changes in body composition, or something else? The answer may be a combination of factors.

Learn why sleep apnea risk increases with menopause, why it’s often underdiagnosed in women, and when snoring may be a sign that it’s time to talk with your doctor.

🗳️ Which one best describes your experience in relation to perimenopause and menopause?

I started to snore.

I was diagnosed with sleep apnea.

I haven’t been impacted by snoring or sleep apnea.

How Menopause Increases Snoring and Sleep Apnea Risk

Hormonal changes during and after menopause can increase the risk of sleep disturbances for some women, including snoring and obstructive sleep apnea (OSA).

Estrogen and progesterone appear to help support the muscles and breathing signals that keep the upper airway open during sleep. Progesterone also helps stimulate breathing.

As estrogen and progesterone levels decline, airway muscle tone may weaken, leading to partial airway collapse or narrowing during sleep. This may increase the risk of snoring and OSA. Research also suggests that women with lower levels of estrogen and progesterone are more likely to snore and report sleep apnea symptoms.

These hormonal shifts may help explain why the difference in OSA rates between men and women becomes much smaller after menopause. Before menopause, OSA is more common in men. After menopause, the prevalence and severity of OSA increase substantially among women. Research suggests that declining hormone levels may reduce some of the protective effects these hormones have on breathing and upper airway stability.

Hormones aren’t the whole story, though. Other factors can affect sleep during menopause, including hot flashes, night sweats, changes in sleep patterns, mood swings, lifestyle factors, and other medical conditions.

Changes in body composition and where the body stores fat may also contribute to the increased risk of snoring and sleep apnea after menopause. These physical changes can affect the airway in ways that may make breathing during sleep more difficult.

Body Composition Changes and Airway Anatomy

Weight gain is common during perimenopause and menopause, and maintaining a healthy weight can help reduce the risk of sleep apnea. But it’s not just how much weight you gain that matters. It’s also where your body stores fat.

As women gain weight in midlife, their body mass index (BMI) may increase, along with their waist and neck circumference. Menopause is also associated with a shift toward storing more fat around the abdomen and upper body. These changes can affect the anatomy of the upper airway and contribute to airway narrowing or obstruction during sleep.

In particular, increased neck circumference can mean more soft tissue around the upper airway, making it more likely to narrow or collapse during sleep. Visceral fat, which is the fat stored around the abdominal organs, may also contribute to sleep apnea risk, even when overall body weight or BMI is similar.

This may help explain why OSA becomes more common after menopause. Studies suggest that postmenopausal women are about two to three times more likely to have OSA than premenopausal women. Research also suggests that OSA can be more severe in postmenopausal women, even after accounting for differences in body weight.

Despite the increased risk of OSA after menopause, the condition is often underdiagnosed. This may be partly because sleep apnea can look different in women than in men.

Why Sleep Apnea Looks Different in Women

When you think of sleep apnea, you might imagine someone snoring loudly. While loud snoring is one of the more common symptoms of sleep apnea, other symptoms can include pauses in breathing, waking up with a dry mouth, and daytime sleepiness. But women may experience the condition differently.

Women with OSA are more likely to report insomnia, daytime fatigue, morning headaches, mood changes, and poor sleep quality. That can make OSA harder to recognize, as some of these symptoms can also be attributed to menopause, stress, or other health conditions.

These differences in symptoms and other potential causes can make OSA more difficult to recognize in women. As a result, some women may not be referred for a sleep test and aren’t diagnosed until much later.

Treatment Options for Sleep Apnea

Snoring and sleep apnea aren’t just a matter of your partner wearing earplugs or sleeping in another room. Getting an accurate diagnosis and treatment plan is important because untreated OSA can increase the risk of high blood pressure, heart disease, depression, anxiety, and other health problems. It can also negatively impact your quality of life.

Treatment depends on the severity of your OSA, your symptoms, and other factors that may contribute to airway obstruction. Your healthcare provider can help determine the right approach for you. These are a few options they might recommend.

Weight Management

Maintaining a healthy weight may help reduce the risk and severity of sleep apnea. After discussing your routines and habits, your healthcare provider may recommend lifestyle changes like exercise, weight loss, and eating nutritious foods.

Positional Therapy

Sleep position matters for some people with OSA. If your symptoms are worse when you sleep on your back, positional therapy can help you change your sleeping position. Sleeping on your side may help reduce pressure on the airway.

Continuous Positive Airway Pressure (CPAP)

A CPAP machine uses gentle air pressure to help keep the airway open during sleep. CPAP is a common and effective treatment for OSA and may be recommended based on the severity of your condition and your symptoms.

Hormone Replacement Therapy

Hormone replacement therapy (HRT), also known as menopause hormone therapy, can be an effective treatment for some menopause symptoms, including night sweats and hot flashes. However, more research is needed to determine whether it can help manage sleep apnea. If you’re considering HRT for menopause symptoms, ask your healthcare provider whether it’s right for you based on your symptoms and health history.

When To Talk to Your Doctor

While snoring and menopause may not have an obvious connection, a link exists. But new or persistent snoring isn’t something you necessarily have to live with.

If you have persistent daytime fatigue, insomnia, morning headaches, or mood changes, especially along with snoring, it’s worth talking with your healthcare provider about whether you may have sleep apnea.

A sleep study can help determine whether you have OSA and how severe it is. The good news is that sleep apnea can be diagnosed and treated, and finding the right treatment can help you get better sleep after menopause while protecting your long-term health.

References