Sleeping with Earbuds: Everything You Need To Know
Why Would You Sleep With Earbuds?
Many people sleep with earbuds in because they like to listen to music before bed. If you live in a house with many people or share a bed with your partner, earbuds allow you to continue your bedtime routine without bothering anyone else. Especially if you like to stay up later or go to bed after your partner.
But, earbuds aren’t only just for music and sleep. You could be falling sleep with earbuds because you:
go to bed while meditating with an app or video
are on the phone with a loved one or friend
are using noise-cancelling on earbuds to get quiet
are listening to white noise
Does Music Help Us Sleep?
Music can help you sleep, depending on the type of music. Nature sounds, acoustic songs and soft instrumental music act almost like white noise and can reduce the amount of noise that makes it hard to fall asleep.
So, it’s not so much the music but the noise that can help us sleep.
Tips for Sleeping with Earbuds
Here are some of our top tips for sleeping with earbuds.
1.Adjust your sleeping position
Sleeping with earbuds can hurt your ears if you sleep on your side because the plastic pushes into the side of your ear. Sleeping on your back eliminates this issue. If you like to sleep on your side, then consider a super soft pillow or a pillow with extra neck support to relieve the pressure on your ears.
2. Invest in a fancy pillow
There are fancy pillows with holes to relieve ear pressure. These pillow are fantastic for people who sleep with earbuds in.
3. Wear headphone specifically for sleeping
Special-designed earbuds that are softer and cause less pressure on the ear, or even sleeping eye masks that play music can eliminate the pain that comes with sleeping with earbuds in.
4. Keep the volume LOW
Falling asleep to blasting music can not only wake you up later in the night but is damaging to your hearing. As a general rule, 85 decibels is the loudest you should listen to music. One way to test if your music is too loud is to take out your earbuds and hold them in front of you at arms length. If you can still hear the music playing, it’s too loud.
5. Invest in wireless earbuds
The wires on traditional earbuds can end up wrapped around your neck or body in your sleep — especially if you move around. Wireless earbuds eliminate this problem and will keep you tangle-free.
6. Use your watch as an alarm
One of the reasons people don’t like sleeping with earbuds is because they miss alarms in the morning. We’d suggest getting a watch and using a vibration alarm to wake you up instead. This way, you won’t miss any important alarms.
Risks When Sleeping with Earbuds
Here are some of the risks associated to sleeping with earbuds.
Build-up of Ear Wax
Ears produce wax as a self-protection method. the glands around the outer-half of the ear canal produce the wax to protect the ear drum from dust particles, debris or any other foreign substances. If you wear earbuds all day long and then all night long, your ear can respond by producing more ear wax. If your ears are not cleaned properly, excess ear wax can be compressed, causing hearing issues, earaches, ringing in your ears, dizziness or any other forms of temporary and potential more long term and dangerous issues.
You can clean your ears with a damp cloth, earwax softer or by asking your doctor to do it for you. Cotton swabs can be used to clean the outside of your ear but should not be inserted into your ear canal.
Bruising
If you have clunky earbuds and sleep sideways with them, you may find your ears to be achy or bruised the following morning. Be aware of the pressure you’re putting on your earbud (and, subsequently) your ear. Although the ear is mainly cartilage, it can become bruised and tender.
Hearing Loss
As mentioned above, blasting music loudly, and then leaving your music playing all night long every night in a row can damage your hearing. Be smart when sleeping with earbuds to protect your ears.
Pros for Sleeping with Earbuds
Eliminate Sleep Disrupting Noise
If you are sensitive to noises while you sleep, using earbuds to listen to white noise can help you fall asleep quicker and stay asleep longer. Plus, some new headphones have noise-cancelling abilities so you can actually find it quieter in headphones than without them.
Happier Feelings Before Bed
Some people just really love music and it’s a part of their relaxation. If you have a super stressful job or find yourself anxious at bedtime, music can be a great way to unwind and relax. Without it, you may find yourself tossing and turning and unable to sleep.
(If this is the case, music is great but consider some other natural sleep aids to help you fall asleep quicker and to sleep longer.)
Great for Snoring Partners or Light Sleeping Partners
Love your partner but their snoring drives you crazy? Are you a light sleeper who wakes up to every gasp or noise your house or roommates make? Earbuds can be a great way to find some peace and quiet on your own.
Alternatives for Sleeping with Earbuds
If you like to have music or white noise while sleeping but just can’t handle earbuds in your ears at night, some alternatives you can try include:
using speakers in your room
playing your phone by your bed (but your room really should be a screen-free zone)
a white noise machine
getting noise with a fan or cracking a window
using a sleep masks with built-in headphones
The Best Earbuds for Sleeping
If you’re shopping for a pair of earbuds specifically for sleeping, there are almost too many choices our there.
Sleep Gadgets put together an extensive list of their top rated sleep headphones for 2022.
RollingStone did a list, too, testing for style, fit, battery life and audio quality. Their top ranking earbuds for sleeping were the Bose Sleepbuds II. Thats right! Bose - one of the most well-known names in audio equipment and headphones - had sleep-specific earbuds made just for you. In fact, they claim that these are sleep-buds, NOT earbuds and are designed specifically to fit into your ear comfortably while sleeping. And, they don’t connect to play your music or podcast but strictly play noise-masking sounds to help you sleep.
Everything else on the list was mainly the normal earbuds we all know of - different brands of wireless earbuds and AirPods with a few of those eye mask/earbud hybrids mixed in.
Sleep Sound Technology
One thing is super clear: Audio tech for sleeping is advancing in leaps and bounds. If you’re looking to sleep with earbuds in or already do, you’re among many. However, be open to adjusting to an eye mask, pillow or even maybe a mattress that will one day automatically play sleep music depending on your heart rate. Who knows? If earbuds for sleep have come this far, who knows what sleep sound tech could look like in the future.