Short answer: In many people who snore, it is clearly worse on the back. Spending less time on your back, known as positional therapy, led to less snoring noise in research. The hard part is keeping it up, which is easier in a position you find comfortable.
You snore most on your back
In many people with snoring and obstructive sleep apnoea, the severity clearly depends on sleep position: on average that applies to 56 percent of people with sleep apnoea, with the back as the least favourable position.1 On the side or stomach it happens considerably less.
Positional therapy: less time on your back
A whole treatment approach has grown up around that fact: positional therapy, in which the back position during sleep is avoided as much as possible. That approach has been summarised in a Cochrane review2, and in a separate study limiting the back position led to less snoring noise, both measured and as experienced by participants.3
The practical hurdle is keeping it up. If you want to stay on your side or stomach all night, you have to find that position comfortable. If it gives you a stiff neck, you roll back at night.
Where the mattress comes in
Lying comfortably on your stomach means your neck does not have to turn far for you to breathe. That is what the face opening is for: your head faces straight down and there is free space around your nose and mouth. That makes the position one you can keep up without having to force it. We cannot promise that you will snore less.
When to see a doctor
Snoring is annoying but not always harmless. If you stop breathing at night, your partner witnesses it, or you are distinctly sleepy during the day despite enough hours of sleep, that belongs with your GP or a sleep centre. Sleep apnoea is diagnosed with a sleep study, not with a mattress.
Read also: snoring: causes and tips, sleep apnoea and sleep position and back, side or stomach compared.
Frequently asked questions
Why do I snore more on my back?
On your back, gravity pulls your tongue and soft palate backwards, which narrows the airway. In many people who snore, it is clearly worse on the back.
Does sleeping on your stomach stop snoring?
In research, less time on the back led to less snoring noise. It does not work for everyone and we cannot promise it for SleepLab One.
Updated on 22 October 2026.
SleepLab One is not a medical device and does not replace a diagnosis or treatment. If your symptoms persist, talk to your GP or physiotherapist. The studies the numbers refer to are listed in the references; they are about sleep position and mattresses in general, not about this mattress.