Tech Can Hurt Our Sleep. So I Tried Bose Sleepbuds for Help.

I would suggest acquiring the Bose noise-cancelling ear buds (I bought a new 'old' iphone specifically so that I could continue to use the corded (vs. the wireless) version of their quiet comfort ear buds. When I travel and can't sleep, I listen to music, but if I choose to, can use just the noise-cancelling aspect of the earbuds to block out a lot of ambient noise. Plus they are excellent for use in aeroplanes and automobiles to cancel out loud ambient noise. They are truly one of the greatest tech devices I have ever owned.

I Pads all night? Isn't anyone worrying about brain cancer?

1) Eat less spicy food, 2) Relax about the future, it'll work out alright, 3) Every night, put the cats outside your bedroom and close the door. Cats cannot open doors. And voila, no need for sleepbuds. Myself, I cannot sleep with anything in my ears, probably because of the opening scene in Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. What I got instead was a Tempurpedic, which as anyone who's gotten one can tell you, has given me the best sleep I can remember, and eliminated morning back pain entirely.

If you are seeking to sleep through the night, why would you sleep in the same room as an animal that wakes you up?

interesting, I bought soft ear plugs for a few dollars that block virtually all noise and help me sleep. noise-canceling devices are an expensive solution for a problem that is already solved, e.g., a high tech joke.

Turn on the dishwasher before going to bed (if you have one and it’s near your bedroom) and you may find that it’s the perfect white noise. Puts me to sleep every time.

Crazy idea—turn off your phone and read a book for an hour before you go to sleep. Sleeping with noise-canceling headphones in sounds like a great way to lose your hearing in a few years.

BBC on sleep timer, if you are still awake after the criket scores then wake your partner for a quickie (or the second of the night)

I bought a clock radio for the bedroom And deliberately never bring the phone to the bedroom. It helps

I'm not sure about the marginal utility of these devices. For $250 you can buy about 5 year's worth of Moldex SparkPlugs, and I have a suspicion that the Bose's won't last that long.

A wad of cotton works better than these $250 gadgets.

Insomnia has plagued my nights almost all of my adult life. Now I wear Bose noise-cancelling headphones at bedtime, and play the same hour long soundtrack. Over a few years, my noisy brain has adapted to my routine and responds to the signal to sleep. Some Ativan and Ambient help, as well. I have wondered about the Sleepbuds. If they won't play my soundtrack, they won't work. The headphones, however, are heaven sent.

Brian, You and your readers should know that segmented sleep, with an extended period of awakening after being asleep for 4 hours or so, appears to be normal, or at least it was until electric lights became widespread. Check out the scientific work of Thomas Wehr and the historical research of Roger Ekirch.

A contrary viewpoint: I have them and I love them. They are not everything one would hope for, but [1] they really are super comfortable; [2] they do really play all night [up to 16 hour]; [3] they do mask most noise. I find them comfortable and they do allow me to fall asleep more easily. The buds do not solve anxiety issues, but do make the process of tuning out the day bit easier. I am happy with them

It’s not the earbuds; it’s what you’re listening to. Crackling fires, babbling brooks, and white noise are irritating. Try fiction. It’s like your mom reading you a bedtime story. (I’d skip scary stuff or anything about Trump, though.)

I am a terrible sleeper and finally figured out a low tech way that helps me that I will share. I have a small clock radio with a CD loader. I go to sleep with an hour of soothing music....if I wake up in the middle of the night I hit the resume play button. I cover the clock light with a little pad because the bright light interferes with sleeping. I suppose one could load music into a streaming device and use ear plugs if a partner objects to the music. I remembered that my Dad used to go to sleep with the radio on, back in the day, when radios had little timers that would shut off after an hour.

My husband snores, had sleep studies, and doesn't have sleep apnea. He was to get a mouth guard, which might or might not have worked. Silicone ear plugs did not work for me (his snoring seemed louder). I could not sleep. A friend suggested specially personally molded ear plugs. I happen to wear hearing aides, so I asked my audiologist and am thrilled with the custom made totally comfortable plugs I have. If I remember correctly, they cost about $100 for the pair (you can choose the color!!), and they are several years old and still like new. The first few nights, I was aware of them, but now I just stick them in my ears, and my husband can snore away. I still hear loud sharp noises (like if something heavy is dropped right next to me), but they are amazing. Check with an audiologist. They are worth every penny, and they fit me perfectly, since molds are made to make them.

I tried these to mask a noisy neighbor and his howling dogs. It worked, but I was concerned that the high level noise being blasted directly into my ears for 8 hours was just as bad, or worse, as not sleeping well. After I read that studies show it is safe to listen to continuous sound drilled into my head for hours on end, I’ll reconsider. Until then, no sleepbuds for me.

Would love to have read a review that actually tested these by sleeping a) next to a snorer and b) in a loud city apartment with street noise. Surely most people are buying this because they know they have problems with noise. I don't really care if Brian sleeps better, I care if they work to mask noise well!

Brian, changing your diet and losing the cat might be a good start for you. (Just kidding about the cat, although putting him in another room overnight might not be a bad idea.) Everyone else-- If you're a light sleeper prone to waking at every sound over 10 db coming your way, as I am, you might try the far cheaper alternative I use: Locate a sound you find soothing on Youtube (it's waterfalls for me), create a very long loop of it (I've made one that's 8 hrs long) in an app like Audacity, then load it onto your iPod or phone. I find I can tolerate most nights the flattish iPod-style earbuds I use, as well as the earbud wires I'm able to more-or-less tuck out of the way above my pillow. A wireless set-up would obviously be better, but this one is free for me, since I've already got the hardware. Some nights the soothing sounds work better than other nights. It's not a panacea for me, just one of several noise masking tools in my tool box-- along with foam ear plugs when I'm not using the iPod and (sorta) white noise generated by fans in the room. Good luck, and pleasant dreams.

I bought 100 pairs of good earplugs for 5$ (granted, in SEA) and will stick with those. The greatest disappointment of the Apple Watch was the lack of any of the great health features announced before. The technology just isn't there besides some fluff and the "rustle of leaves". This is not a health product, it's just some more marketing abuse targeting credulous people with too much money (good for them).

I am also concerned despite reassurances from Bose that leaving a Bluetooth device in my ear for 8 hours a night could pose risks. No long term research has been completed on the impact of Bluetooth headphones and Sleepbuds on brain cancer risk.

I haven't tried these earbuds, and I'm not going to spend that much money to obtain a result that probably wouldn't be any better than the author achieved. But I've found a nearly miraculous remedy for insomnia that could be considered a technological one, and it doesn't cost a penny unless you want to pay for it. It's a magically and intentionally soporific podcast called "Sleep With Me." It never fails to put me to sleep, usually within five or ten minutes, which is something nothing else I've tried has ever been able to do.

Why not first try a simple white noise app for your phone for a cost of $5?

I am not sure that the Bose product will prevent our country from turning into an autocracy that encourages hate and racism and disregard for anyone that isn't worth several million dollars. Sleep is hard to come by when the country, and any regard for humanity, is being destroyed.