Learning center · Observing your sleep

How do I know if I snore?

If you sleep alone, a bedroom recording gives you something you can listen to yourself. A repeating, snore-like sound is a clue about that moment. A quiet clip tells you little about what happened during the rest of the night.

Start with a recording you can hear clearly

Use a recorder you already know how to operate. Place the phone on a stable nightstand with the microphone clear. Say a few words and play them back before bed. If the bedding rustles against the phone or a fan drowns out your voice, try another spot.

In the morning, describe what you can hear. Does the sound repeat? How much of the clip does it occupy? If you can't tell what produced a sound, write that down too. A short recording is one sample of a much longer night.

How to record snoring on your phone →

Whose sound are you hearing?

A microphone can pick up a bed partner, a pet or sounds from another room. Before recording, ask everyone who might be heard. If someone prefers to skip the recording, a short note about what they noticed can be just as useful for starting a conversation.

If a partner mentioned your snoring, ask when they were awake to hear it. “I heard it while I was reading after you fell asleep” tells you more than a guess about how the whole night sounded.

When your partner snores →

Write a note you'll understand later

Jot down what you heard, roughly when it happened, and how you felt the next day. If the recording cut out, mark that part as missing. When you look back, you'll know why there's no sound to review for that part of the night.

You can use the same diary without making a recording. Leave uncertain details blank. Bring the notes to your next visit if you'd like to discuss them.

A sample diary entry
Tuesday: I heard a rough, repeating sound in one clip. The recorder stopped later on. I don't know how the rest of the night sounded.

Open the printable snoring diary →

When should you bring this up at a visit?

If someone has noticed repeated pauses in your breathing during sleep, or you often feel very sleepy during the day, talk with your primary care clinician. You can start that conversation even if you sleep alone and have no recording to share.

A clip can help you describe a concern. Your clinician can ask about your symptoms and decide whether a sleep study would help. Listening to a phone recording cannot establish or rule out sleep apnea.

Prepare for your appointment →

Sources and further reading

NHLBI describes sleep apnea symptoms. The American Academy of Sleep Medicine explains the limits of apps and devices used at home.