Sleep is essential to recharge the body and mind, but as we age, quality sleep often starts to elude us. Sleeping with earbuds in, listening to sleep music, is one way to solve this predicament.

Wearing headphones can get a little uncomfortable due to their bulkiness. But, there are alternatives you can use to lull yourself into a deep sleep, without waking others around you. Read on to find out which earphones are best to sleep with, along with the benefits and any dangers to look out for.

There are a few things to consider when choosing a listening device. If you sleep alone, you can bypass headsets completely and get a bluetooth speaker for your night stand. If you sleep on your side, you need something comfortable and that will fit snugly into the ear. If you're worried about earbuds falling out or just don't like the feeling of them, there are many options for headband styles headphones - some even double as a sleep mask to block out the light.

While shopping, look out for devices that have a good battery life and noise cancelling abilities, to mask background noise. To prevent any mishaps or discomfort, it's best to go wireless - its worth it to spend a little more on bluetooth products.

Benefits of Sleeping with Earbuds

Earbuds tend to be the most popular option and there are a range of benefits to sleeping with earbuds in. These include:

1. Block Outside Noise

Outside noises can prevent you from falling asleep or wake you up from a deep sleep. If you’re sensitive to this, sleeping with earbuds is a solution that blocks out a snoring partner, traffic sounds or noisy neighbors.

1. Avoid Disturbing Other People

Do you share a flat with friends or share a room with a partner? Either way, they might not like your choice of music to get to sleep. Play sleep sounds or soothing tunes on the BetterSleep app as late as you like with earbuds in.

1. Enhance Sound Quality

Low quality speakers can reduce sound quality, which isn’t helpful when trying to relax and drift off. Earbuds allow you to adjust the sound and cancel outside noise for a quality experience.

1. To Improve Sleep Quality

Calming background noises such as white noise, ASMR (autonomous sensory meridian response), binaural beats and nature sounds help some people to sleep. If silence unnerves you, wear earbuds and listen to your favorite sleep sounds.

Can Sleeping with Earbuds Damage Ears?

While listening to the right kind of music is known to relax the body and improve sleep, there are potential side effects of constantly wearing earbuds to bed.

• Earwax buildup. One study showed how prolonged earbud use, can lead to excessive earwax build up.
• Hearing loss. Earwax build up can cause impaired hearing. While asleep, there is also a danger of the volume getting turned up, which could lead to damage over time.
• Otitis externa. This condition causes the external ear canal to become inflamed. Earbuds are thought to be a possible trigger.

Sleeping with earbuds occasionally shouldn’t be a problem. Listening to soothing sounds while in bed, relaxes and encourages deep, restful sleep. However, it’s important to remember prolonged use can irritate the ear canal and lead to hearing loss in extreme cases. To avoid this, consider using headband headphones and give your ears a break by not wearing earbuds every night.