Sleep is not something to be taken lightly. Getting a solid eight hours of quality, uninterrupted rest means higher energy levels, better focus at work, and an overall lessened affinity for crankiness and verbal affronts to unsuspecting colleagues and peers.
This is why we’re big proponents of using technology to support better sleep. Whether that means a sleep-tracking smartwatch or a dedicated snooze-charting contraption like the Withings Sleep, there are plenty of devices out there that’ll help you stay aware of your sleep quality. Even most fitness trackers nowadays have some sort of sleep-related function.
Other devices help you stay asleep. That’s where earbuds come in; the right pair of earbuds for sleeping will block out disturbances and lull you into slumber with soft music or noises of nature. The wrong pair of earbuds for sleeping will probably hurt, or fall out, leaving you crankier and more prone to verbal assaults than ever, but this time with ear pain and a missing earbud.
The best earbuds for catching Zs
Anker Soundcore Sleep A10
Comfort meets sleep tracking
Do you want to buy a pair of earbuds specifically designed for sleeping? Enter the Soundcore Sleep A10 earbuds from Anker. You will be wowed by both the fit and the noise suppression of these buds. They are cleverly designed to not protrude from your ears, which is a boon for side sleepers. You won’t believe so much noise can be suppressed without ANC, as they were built to play sleep noises like white noise or peaceful, relaxing music.
- Great passive noise cancellation
- Tracks sleep stats
- Lasting comfortable fit
- Lacks wireless charging
- No active noise cancellation
The Anker Soundcore Sleep A10 earbuds may lack active noise cancelling capabilities, but these buds make up for that with a tight passive seal against noise, while still remaining comfortable enough to wear through the night. The exterior portion of the Soundcore Sleep A10 is small enough that it tucks neatly into the outer ear, so there won’t be bulky pieces jutting out for most wearers.
Like other members of Anker’s lineup, the Soundcore mobile app controls the Sleep A10 earbuds. Through the app you’ll toggle the sleep mode on and off, browse preset soothing noises (or switch to your own music or white noise source), and view sleep trends like quality and length.
These earbuds’ biggest fault is their middling battery life; you should plan to drop them on the charger every morning after use, or run the risk of them running out of juice halfway through the night. Even so, the Sleep A10s boast a comfortable enough fit to appeal even to side sleepers, a rich support app, and a nice seal against noises that may wake you.
Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds
Venerable audio house Bose offers the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds as its update to the QuietComfort Earbuds II. Bose pioneered noise cancelling headphones, and it shouldn’t be a surprise that the QuietComfort Ultra earbuds do a great job of blocking background noise. Sound is excellent, too, and the buds even measure your ears and adapt their tuning accordingly. Thanks to their great features and fit, it’s easier to doze off in noisy spots like an airplane or a car.
- Excellent ANC
- Great audio quality for music
- Supports Fast Pair
- No wireless charging
- ANC randomly hisses at times
- Battery life won’t make it through an 8-hour sleep
With a merely so-so battery life and high price tag, the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Earbuds may only appeal to a small subcategory of shoppers, but these buds are bound to serve that group well. If you’re fortunate enough to sleep for eight full hours a night, the QuietComfort Ultras will clock out before your alarm clocks in — just six hours is all you’ll get out of these buds.
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But what Bose’s earbuds lack in battery life, they certainly make up for in active noise cancellation capabilities. Whether a night-owl roommate, a snoring partner, or poorly timed construction, Bose’s leading ANC will dull outside din, providing your lullabies or white noise plenty of space to soothe you to sleep. Since the battery won’t last until the morning anyway, this makes the QuietComfort Ultras a great choice for users who need some peace and quiet to fall asleep, but are generally heavy enough sleepers that the earbuds won’t be needed later on in the night. (At least even dead earbuds would provide a passive seal against noise, anyway.)
The QuietComfort Ultra’s price tag isn’t difficult to overlook, but these earbuds also pull their weight in overall sound quality, making them one of the few options that we can recommend both for sleep and for daily use. Keep the QuietComfort Ultra’s shape in mind, too; since they’re not specifically designed for sleeping, these Bose buds stick out of the ears quite a bit and may not work for side sleepers.
Wedoking Sleep Buds
Small buds, small price
The Wedoking Sleep Buds are mini-sized earbuds that fit your ears exceptionally well and do not protrude outside. That alone is a boon to most people. They do not come with any audible alerts for low battery or actions, nor do they have controls that you can accidentally activate while snoozing. Without ANC, these buds can block noise up to 24 dB just by forming a solid in-ear seal. And although their battery life is rather low, they can help you get to the dreamland effectively.
- Decent passive noise seal
- Mini buds fit nicely in ears
- No ANC
- Short battery life
The Wedoking Sleep buds are an affordable starting point for peaceful, uninterrupted sleep. There’s an understandable amount of sacrifice at this price range, though. There’s no active noise cancellation, for example, so you’ll have to rely on the earbuds’ seal in your ears for blocking out noise, which will likely be just enough for moderate snoring or voices throughout the living space.
This is also another pair of earbuds that won’t still be humming a white noise tune when you wake up six to eight hours later. Clocking in at just four hours of battery life, the Wedoking Sleep Buds are best for tuning out your surroundings just long enough to fall into deep sleep. Further, Wedoking says these earbuds won’t wake you up with an obnoxious low battery alert as that four hour mark approaches. The buds also lack touch controls for the same reason, but some people may see this as a drawback.
All in all, these sleep buds are a simple and cost-effective solution, great if you’re on a budget or aren’t sure yet if earbuds for sleep would be a good solution for you. They lack some premium features, but a very unobtrusive profile promises comfort to side sleepers, and the passive noise seal will be a modest shield against outside disturbances.
Philips Kokoon Sleep Headphones
No more earbud fishing
The Philips Kokoon Sleep Headphones take a tethered approach to their earpieces, ensuring an earbud is easily accessible even when it falls out. With 10 hours of battery life, the Philips Kokoon sleep buds stay powered through the night, while a companion app plays soothing sounds or white noise.
- Comfortable fit, even for side sleeping
- Plenty of battery life for one night of sleep
- App has a few quirks
- Spotty connectivity
If you’ve ever lost an earbud in the middle of the night, you know how awful it is to hunt through the sheets for it while still mostly asleep. The Philips Kokoon Sleep Headphones eliminate that problem. A semi-coiled cable tethers the earbuds together and, despite the seemingly blocky center control piece, sits unobtrusively on the nape of the neck.
The battery life is one of our favorite features; expect between 9 and 11 hours of use out of these buds, so if you need blocking noise throughout the entire duration of your sleep, the Philips Kokoon Sleep Headphones are an excellent choice.
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I see worthwhile sleep headphones, if only in my dreams
Philips’ sleep earbuds aren’t without their own setbacks. There’s an unimpressive app in need of some refinement, and an occasional random failure to produce any noise, resulting in a necessary reboot or even disconnection from the connected smartphone. But the tethered earbud design is still a compelling feature of these headphones, and if you don’t experience the same connectivity issues we did, then the Philips Kokoon Sleep Headphones will stay up all night in order for you to sleep peacefully.
QuietOn 3.1
Just pure, blissful silence
If you’re just looking for buds for quiet as opposed to listening, choose the QuietOn 3.1 earbuds. They do not connect to any device, but they come with world-class ANC, which reduces annoying sounds to almost silence. The buds are so tiny that they are suitable for side sleepers, also. And with multi-sized soft ear tips, they almost can’t be felt in the ears. Pop these in and experience serenity!
- No companion app to hassle with
- Highly effective ANC
- No option for lullabies, podcasts
- Expensive
The QuietOn 3.1 earbuds serve a very specific purpose. They won’t connect to your phone, don’t allow you to play your favorite 10-hour playlist of rain on a tin roof. These earbuds don’t even come with Bluetooth built in. That’s all by design.
These earbuds have one goal in mind: noise cancellation. The QuietOn 3.1s take a dual approach, using both ANC and a passive seal against snoring, noisy roommates, or disturbances outside your window. And because these earbuds aren’t streaming media sourced from your phone, their battery life is remarkable — over 24 hours on a single charge.
If you’re someone who practices a screen-free nighttime routine and don’t want to mess with your phone to get your sleep buds up and running, the QuietOn 3.1 earbuds are a great fit for you. They’re pricey, but the slender, unobtrusive fit and leading ANC are well worth it.
Google Pixel Buds Pro
Best for Google phones, but suitable for any
The Pixel Buds Pro come with big 11mm drivers and an almost-perfect aural seal that makes your music shine best. The near-perfect ANC and SilentSeal fit will effectively keep external noise like fan and traffic noise out. The earbud quality is very good, and they are rarely uncomfortable. With 11 hours of playtime, they will easily last you across the night. Apart from sleeping, these earbuds are also great for meetings and calls, hands-free work, and light workouts.
- Supports multipoint Bluetooth connectivity
- Great ANC for sleeping
- Not the best fit for side sleepers
- Battery life is merely decent for the price
While the Pixel Buds Pro work the most seamlessly with Google Pixel smartphones, they’ll mesh well with just about any Android smartphone. They’re supported by a decent companion app, where you can switch on the active noise cancellation that these buds stand out for.
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Even without ANC, the passive seal against potential slumber-interrupting noises is decent. And if your sleep environment is quiet enough that the Pixel Buds Pro’s ANC isn’t needed, you may be able to stretch these earbuds’ seven-hour battery life into a full eight-hour sleep stretch.
While the Google Pixel Buds Pro are a great choice for everyday general-purpose earbuds including sleep, they may not be the ideal product for side sleepers. A particularly bulky profile means a large portion juts out of the ear, which could lead to some pressure for people laying on their side.
Mee Audio Pebbles
Designed with comfort in mind
The Mee Audio Pebbles come in a unique shape, unlike normal earbuds. Built following scans of in-ear shapes, the cutely odd earbuds fit into your ears very comfortably without ear tips messing up your inner ear pressure. (It’s actually hard to believe the fit is so secure.) The lightweight and comfortable earbuds also deliver audio with a soft, sweet profile very suitable for sleeping. You can even snooze through your REM time with 8 hours of battery life.
- Eight hours of battery life
- Stemless design for super comfortable fit
- Touch controls may be accidentally bumped at night
- No active noise cancellation
Some earbuds are known for causing an ache in the ears once you wake up. The unique design of Mee’s audio pebbles negates this issue, using a smooth, oblong, stemless design to keep blocky components from interrupting your sleep quality and leading to pain in the morning.
An eight hour battery life means the Mee Audio Pebbles will dutifully output white noise or soothing tracks throughout the whole night. Since these earbuds aren’t specifically made for sleep, however, you’ll need to curate your own lullaby playlist. They understandably don’t feature active noise cancellation at this price point, and we can’t vouch for a stellar passive seal against noise in the absence of a silicone ear tip, so these may not be the best buds for particularly noisy sleeping environments.
However, if the stems of your favorite pair of earbuds press into your ears at night, or if silicone tips cause your inner ear pain in the morning, then the Mee Audio Pebbles may be the sleep earbud solution you’ve been searching for.
1More ComfoBuds Mini
Great for small ears
As the name implies, the 1More ComfoBuds Mini earbuds were built to be comfortable in your ears. Despite being the lightest and smallest buds with ANC on the market, they are comfortable while being quiet in noisy environments. The adjustable QuietMax ANC cancels noise up to 40 dB, or just wind noise, as you please. The audio signature is pleasant, rivals some big brands, and the fit is almost invisible.
- ANC at a great price point
- Mini earbuds ensure a comfortable fit
- Short battery life
Traditional earbuds can put a lot of strain on the ear when worn for six to eight hours straight. If you’re looking for sleep earbuds with a remarkably small footprint, check out 1More’s ComfoBuds Mini. As the name implies, these are mini-sized earbuds that still sit firmly in the ear and won’t go migrating through the night.
The ComfoBuds Mini earbuds offer different ANC levels, so you can either mute the distant neighbor’s barking dog or completely drown out your partner’s snoring. Since these aren’t dedicated sleep earbuds, you won’t find a library full of soothing fall-asleep noises or sleep tracking features, but a decent sound quality means you could even turn these into round-the-clock earbuds and use them for commuting, working, or general music streaming.
These earbuds have one major setback, and that’s their battery life. At just five hours, the battery capacity of these earbuds isn’t enough to keep the outside world dimmed for a full night’s sleep. But maybe, if it’s the discomfort of too-big earbuds keeping you up at night, this battery shortcoming is worth the compromise for a compact, comfortable fit.
Choosing the best earbuds for sleeping
Music is a great way to relax and, indeed, can help provide a therapeutic solution for sleep challenges. A good pair of sleep earbuds are the best way to go. They are good at bedtime and for sneaking in a little nap or catching up on sleep when traveling by air. The best options provide a good fit, external noise isolation, and great overall sound quality.
In the final analysis of the best earbuds for sleep, the Anker Soundcore Sleep A10 earbuds come close to being perfect with their four-point noise cancellation system and dynamic drivers that deliver soothing sound. However, none sound better than the Bose QuietComfort Ultra earbuds, which boast excellent active noise cancellation but at a price.
The QuietOn 3.1 falls in the same price range as the Bose QuietComfort Ultra but is slightly cheaper, making it a great alternative for the latter if you are only after ANC. For a more affordable option, go for the Wedoking Sleep Earbuds. Choose wisely, and have a good snooze.
Anker Soundcore Sleep A10
Designed to keep you dreaming
The Anker Soundcore Sleep A10 are earbuds dedicated to sleeping. They feature a slim-profile fit comfortable enough for side sleepers, plus a great passive seal against outside noises.
