The 3 best headphones for sleeping in comparison
Headphones for sleeping - sounds paradoxical. However, there is a market for this. In this practical tip, we will explain why headphones are generally not recommended when sleeping. If you still have no concerns, we will then advise you on the purchase.
Headphones while sleeping - a bad idea!
Many people like to listen to some music or a radio play to fall asleep. If you have a partner, you can be considerate when wearing headphones. However, we advise against this for many reasons:
- You should never put too much sound on your ears when you sleep.
- Hearing is the last sense organ that is switched off in the sleep process and the first that starts in the waking phase. That is why we use alarm clocks and not timed scented candles.
- That is why you prevent acoustic stimuli from falling asleep.
- A healthy sleep rhythm includes several waking phases. Under high noise levels, these occur much more suddenly and for a long time.
- The result can be stress resulting from a lack of sleep, hormonal imbalance, impaired concentration and performance.
- Your brain, heart and circulatory system ultimately suffer from a lack of sleep. From thyroid dysfunction to arthritis and depression, many clinical pictures have been attributed to noise-induced lack of sleep.
- To protect our ear canal from germs, the body produces ear wax. This has an unfavorable pH value for germs, is continuously produced anew and flows outwards to remove germs and particles.
- Especially when sleeping on the side, the ear wax makes its way. Blocking the flow too long and too often can not only clog your ears but also catch fire. Hearing and balance problems as well as nausea can be the result.
3 types of headphones for sleeping
If, despite our discouragement, you insist on headphones while you sleep, you have made the best choice with the following three options:
- Noise cancellation headphones, ideally without music or radio play, give you more peace of mind and are recommended, for example, on a plane. You can find out what you need to consider here in the CHIP online purchase advice.
- SleepPhones are particularly soft. The advantage: your ears are not blocked all night. The Bluetooth variant even works without a cable connection to the MP3 player. Both promise to mitigate outside noise, like snoring partners. Unfortunately, they don't sound that good.
- Headphones with a neckband are primarily intended for jogging because they hold particularly well. If you are a back sleeper, the hanger should lie between the neck and bed without pressing. Such headphones are of course also available as a Bluetooth version and even with noise cancellation technology.
In further CHIP online practical tips, we advise you on healthy headphone types, gaming headsets and show you how to solder defective headphone cables.