EATING cheese may help reduce snoring, according to a study.

People who regularly scoff the dairy staple were found to have a 28 per cent lower risk of sleep apnoea — closing of the throat — which causes severe snoring.

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Researchers linked higher intake to a reduced likelihood of developing the disorder.

They claimed not enough attention had been paid to the connection with diet, writing in the Sleep Medicine journal: “This relationship may be crucial.”

Snorers have previously been advised to avoid dairy products, including cheese, before bed.

But the study of 400,000 Brits by boffins from China’s Chengdu University found 20 ways in which cheese can lower sleep apnoea risk.

These include increasing testosterone and lowering blood pressure.

A recent study also found that people with the healthiest diets were nearly a fifth less likely to develop sleep apnoea than those who ate the fewest greens.

Dr Yohannes Melaku, of Flinders University, said: “It could be that a healthy plant-based diet reduces inflammation and obesity — key factors in obstructive sleep apnoea risk.

“These results highlight the importance of the quality of our diet in managing the risk of obstructive sleep apnoea.”

Sleep apnoea is when your breathing stops because your airways become blocked while you sleep.