Does alcohol make you stop breathing at night?

Again, alcohol as a risk factor - that's probably no surprise. It also plays a role in sleep apnea.

A good wine with dinner or a couple of beers with friends make for a fun evening. Alcohol is known to have an exhilarating and relaxing effect. But is there a risk of breathing pauses at night?

Short and sweet:

  • Alcohol relaxes the muscles, which can also affect the muscles of the upper respiratory tract.
  • When the airways relax and collapse, breathing stops during sleep.
  • Even healthy people can start snoring and breathing pauses after heavy alcohol consumption.
  • The following applies to men in particular: those who drink alcohol a lot and frequently suffer more frequently from nocturnal breathing pauses. The risk increases by up to 25% per drink.
  • In general, you should avoid alcohol before bed. It helps you fall asleep, but it makes you sleep shorter and worse. 

If you want to get a good night's sleep, you should limit your alcohol consumption, especially in the hours before you go to sleep. People who suffer from sleep apnea in particular should avoid alcohol altogether if possible.

You can find out easily with the Snorefox app whether you are experiencing breathing pauses - with or without alcohol. Snorefox uses the nocturnal snoring and breathing noises to analyze whether there is a risk of sleep apnea. Quite simply via smartphone at home.

The first medical snoring app to measure your sleep apnea risk
Snorefox is freely available in the App Store.
You can determine your sleep apnea risk by upgrading to Snorefox Med. You can get this within the app for €49.99.
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frequently asked Questions

Is the app free?

The basic version of Snorefox is available for free in the AppStore for iOS. In the table you can compare the features of the free version with those of the full version. You can easily upgrade to the full version within the app if needed. Below you will find an overview of the features of both Snorefox versions:

Basic and full version

How do I activate the upgrade to Snorefox Med?

To activate the sleep apnea screening upgrade, tap "Activate Snorefox Med" within the app. You have the option of activating Snorefox Med as a self-payer or by code.

As a self-payer, first tap on "Self-Payer" and then on "Switch to Med", then select your payment method. 

If you have an activation code (e.g. from a health insurance company or as part of the tester program), tap on “I have a code”. When entering the code, you should consider upper and lower case letters.

How does Snorefox detect dangerous sleep apnea?

Snorefox detects breathing irregularities and respiratory events through intelligent audio analysis of snoring and breath noise patterns. In other words: Snorefox analyzes your snoring and at the same time carries out a risk check to determine whether there are dangerous breathing stops during sleep. Snorefox shows you the result of the analysis in a simple traffic light scheme. In this way, Snorefox quickly provides orientation as to whether a doctor's visit is necessary. 

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