Do headband headphones work?

I spoke with a woman last week who sounded completely drained. She told me she's tried everything to get to sleep, from melatonin and white noise machines to bulky earbuds that left her ears throbbing by 3am. She then asked me point blank, "Do these headband headphones actually work, or am I just buying another product that will disappoint me?"

It's a question I'm asked often, and, honestly, I get the skepticism. If you've ever tried to sleep with hard, plastic earbuds you know the frustration. You roll onto your side and it feels like a pebble is wedged into your ear. Anytime you shift positions, it's uncomfortable and it wakes you up.

That's where SleepPhones® headphones differ. We intentionally designed our thin, padded speakers to nestle inside a soft, breathable headband. Because the speakers aren't positioned inside your ear canal, they don't cause pressure or pain when you move. We're just trying to fix the physical discomfort, not reinvent audio technology. When you lie down, SleepPhones® move with you. They don't fight your pillow or your head. You can shift from front to back to side without that sudden, sharp realization that something is poking you.

The real magic, though, isn't the speakers themselves, but what they allow you to do: actually stay asleep. Customers frequently tell us they can stop focusing on the hardware and start focusing on the steady hum of rainfall or the soothing voice of a podcast host. Once the physical discomfort disappears, the brain sends out the signal that it's safe to drift off. It's not a miracle though; it's just a much more comfortable way to listen.

Find more answers on our "Frequently Asked Questions" page.