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What Are Sleep Headphones? (And Which Are Right For You?)

Sleep headphones have been specifically designed and engineered to help you fall asleep and stay on your ears at night.

collage of a headband with sleep app, bose ear buds, and a sleep mask Courtesy

By Tucker Bowe

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There are many reasons why you’d want headphones that are specifically designed to be worn while you sleep. Maybe your partner snores doesn’t like the idea of a speaker or white noise machine playing. Maybe you live in a city apartment or next to busy road, so it never gets truly quiet at night. Or maybe you just like listening to a podcast, audiobook or soothing sounds while you sleep.

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Are Sleeping Headphones for You?

It’s true that you could wear any old pair of headphones while you sleep, but they’re not specially designed to stay in your ears through the night. And you’ll find more times than not that you’ll end up waking up with an earbud out of your ears. And unless you don’t move around in your sleep, over-ear headphones definitely won’t work.

The good news is that there are headphones you can buy that are specifically designed to stay on while you sleep. These “sleep headphones” come in a wide variety of shapes and designs, and some of them have special capabilities, like blocking out light or working with third-party apps that play audio specifically designed to help you sleep through the night.

What to Look for

Headphone Style: You’ll notice that there are mainly two styles of sleep headphones out there: headband or earbud. The headband-style sleep headphones are often more comfortable to wear and do a better job at staying in your ears if you move around during the night. The earbud-style sleep headphones often sound better and are more feature-packed for people who like to track their sleeping metrics.

Custom Features: A lot of the more affordable sleep headphones aren’t very feature-packed; they work like traditional Bluetooth headphones and relay on you steaming audio from your smartphone throughout the night. Many of the higher-end options have been features like alarms, custom sounds (like rain sounds or white noise) as well as some sleep tracking capabilities.

Price: The price of these sleep headphones can vary drastically. For example, Bose’s SleepBuds II, which are jam-packed with features and have been specifically engineered to help you sleep better, cost $250. On the flip side, you can get a basic headband-style pair of sleep headphones for around $20.

Why You Should Trust Us

We’ve been writing about and reviewing audio products — including speakers, headphones, earbuds and other audio components that run the gamut from consumer to hi-fi — for near-on a decade. We also work with major brands and talk to experts within the audio industry. The below selections of sleep headphones are a combination of products that we’ve had hands-on experience with as well as products that are made by brands that trusted within the audio space.

Pros

  • Easy to Use
  • Comfortable to wear
  • Specific sounds to help you sleep
  • Support for Bluetooth streaming

Cons

  • Only available in one color

The Hoomband Wireless is a headband-style pair of headphones that wrap around your head — it eliminates the problem of earbuds falling out while you sleep, which is especially nice for people with weirdly-shaped ears or move around a lot at night. It works like a traditional pair of wireless headphones; so you can listen to music from any streaming service. There’s also an app where you can access to sounds that have been specifically engineered to block out sound while you sleep. It’s got a little bit of everything, and is more affordable that many other less-capable options.

Pros

  • Premium design and fit
  • Have a lot of exclusive sounds and features

Cons

  • Very expensive
  • Can't stream music from smartphone

The Sleepbuds II are wireless earbuds that are specifically designed to block out noises — like a snoring partner, loud neighbors and other miscellaneous sounds — while you sleep. They can’t stream music, but they do play sounds that are engineered to cancel out the sound frequencies that disturb your sleep. These sounds include rustling leaves, ocean waves and blowing wind. You select these sounds in the Bose Sleep app. Yes, at $249, the Sleepbuds II are definitely on the premium side, but there are few other sleep headphones that are as sophisticated and as comfortable.

Pros

  • Very affordable
  • Contoured design to better fit your face
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Lack special features or sounds of higher-end options

The 3D Eye Mask are another affordable headband-style sleep headphones — they slip on, fits snug and allow you stream audio from your smartphone over Bluetooth. However, they are a little bit different because they are contoured to better fit your face and eyes so they don’t move around in the night.

Pros

  • Affordable
  • Straightforward to use.

Cons

  • Not a wireless option
  • Lack special features or sounds of higher-end options

These sleeping earbuds by Maxrock don’t do anything different that traditional wired earbuds: they plug into your smartphone (via AUX) and allow you to listen to music while they sleep. The difference is that they have unique silicone eartips that are specially designed to stay in your ears as you sleep. The wire also has buttons for volume and playback controls. so you can adjust settings and audio without having to look at your smartphone.

Pros

  • Easy to use
  • Comfortable to wear
  • Available in multiple sizes

Cons

  • Lack special features or sounds of higher-end options

The SleepPhones Wireless are another headband-style pair of headphones that designed for people who sleep on their sides. The flat speaker slip into padded slots on either side of the headband, which is light enough to cover your eyes and used as a face mask. There’s no special companion app that provides special sounds, but it does work as a traditional Bluetooth headset so you can stream whatever music you like. It’s available in three sizes (small/medium/large) and in either a warm fleece or light breathable fabric.

Cons

  • Can't stream music from smartphone
  • Fairly Expensive

The Amazfit Zenbuds are a more affordable alternative to the Bose Sleepbuds II — and if they fit your ears, they’re probably even a better bet. Like the Sleepbuds II, these sleep-masking earbuds can’t stream music from your smartphone, but play relaxing sounds that are specifically designed to block out ambient noises and help you sleep. The Zenbuds are unique because they have built-in sensors for sleep-tracking and it shuts off the sounds after it detects that you’ve fallen asleep. The only downside is that the U-shaped in-ear design might not be as comfortable for some.

Pros

  • Can stream music right from smartphone.
  • Integrated remote controls for skipping tracks

Cons

  • Earhook design won't be for everybody

The Bedphones Wireless are specially-designed earphones for sleep. The earpads are very thin and they have an integrated earhook so that they stay on your ears at night. They work like traditionally Bluetooth wireless earbuds so you can stream whatever music you like. And there’s a remote control integrated right into the wire to allow you to adjust volume or skip tracks.

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