Technology

Parenting a sleep-resistant child is a thankless task that can drive even the most mature, loving adults to desperation.

There are only so many times a night that you can be woken from a peaceful slumber to rub a child's back, adjust their blankets, or walk them back to bed.

Or maybe your struggles take place before anyone has actually gone to sleep, as your anxious child springs from their bed like a Jack In the Box and requires a sip of water, a snack, another song — basically anything that will forestall the inevitable. Let's not even speak of the exhausting tantrums that happen when bedtime becomes a power struggle.

SEE ALSO: How to wean your toddler off a tablet

There's no shortage of internet advice about fool-proof sleep solutions, but parents might be particularly interested in gadgets that leverage tech in service of improving their child's sleep. After all, adults can monitor their own sleep with wearables and use smart mattresses to optimize their rest.

The options for kids, however, are much more tailored to creating a calm bedtime routine or ritual. New entrants to the category include the audio player Tonies' expanded Sleepy Friends series, and Moonbird's moonbuddy, a handheld "breathing companion" designed specifically for kids.

But will gadgets geared toward kids — or their parents — lead to a transformational change in how easily and happily children go to sleep, and stay there?

To find out, Mashable interviewed pediatric sleep experts about how to tackle typical bedtime challenges, and personally tested the new Tonies and Moonbird products. What we learned may lead you to reconsider using tech gadgets for a better night's sleep.

Why children's sleep goes haywire

First, let's establish one rule: This is a judgement-free zone. We're not here to cast blame on parents who haven't been able to implement or keep a consistent bedtime routine.

"Life is hard as it is, and life for two working parents can be very difficult," says Dr. David Gozal, a pediatric sleep expert and dean of medicine and vice president for health affairs at Marshall University.

Yet Gozal also knows that everyone in a household, and especially children, need a dependable bedtime schedule. This means having time to wind down as well as going to sleep and waking at approximately the same time every day. So without this routine in place, a gadget that plays soothing white noise may have little to no effect on a toddler who'd rather stay up to watch a movie or play with a sibling, if that's what happens most nights.

For parents of children who don't want them to leave the room at bedtime, Gozal says it's possible to gradually transition away from the practice of remaining present until they've fallen asleep. Parents may start at their bedside and progressively increase their distance until they're standing at the door. Eventually, the child should be able to drift off and self-soothe if they wake overnight.

"Life is hard as it is, and life for two working parents can be very difficult." - Dr. David Gozal, pediatric sleep expert

Gozal also says that many parents unintentionally send their children the wrong message when they treat sleep as a burden rather than a blessing. In his experience, children pick up on this messaging very quickly, particularly if they see their parents skipping sleep or lamenting about losing time to rest.

If this sounds familiar, it's time to rethink your relationship with sleep so that you can present it to your child as something essential for physical growth, emotional well-being, and overall happiness. There's not a screen-free audio player in the world capable of doing that for you.

These dynamics can help explain why some children fight bedtime. But parents should also be aware of medical conditions like obstructive sleep apnea, asthma, and allergies that can rouse them from sleep, says Dr. Sanaz Vaziri, a pediatric pulmonologist and sleep medicine specialist at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital in San Francisco.

A child who's been woken up by an obstructed airway, for example, may have no clue why they're suddenly awake, but they still might ask for handholding to fall back asleep. A parent might become frustrated by such regular wake-ups. What's less obvious, though, is that untreated or poorly controlled asthma and allergies can lead to disrupted sleep thanks to airway inflammation and congestion.

Vaziri says parents should follow up with a physician if they notice that their child is consistently groggy or tired after what should have been a full night's sleep. Other red flags that may indicate an underlying medical problem include snoring, pauses in breathing, and restless sleeping. Technology, of course, will not solve sleep struggles if they stem from a medical condition, she says.

In general, Vaziri does not recommend a specific tech device to parents to help with sleeping challenges at home, partly because what works for one child may not work for another. When parents are evaluating a product, she suggests clarifying its purpose and ensuring that it's developmentally appropriate.

Most importantly, it should help a child relax and not pose any risk to them. Still, she discourages parents from relying on it solely.

"It shouldn't ever be a standalone solution," she says.

What to know about Tonies Sleepy Friends and Moonbird's moonbuddy

Tonies, the popular screen-free audio player, recently expanded its Sleepy Friends series with an ocean-themed collection. The player works by placing an adorably crafted figurine on top of the speaker, which prompts the content to play. (The player itself, known as a Toniebox, retails for $99.99. Each Sleepy Friends Ocean Collection Tonie is $19.99.)

The latest collection includes a pastel-hued miniature octopus and whale. The former cues up more than 40 minutes of bedtime stories while the latter offers more than two hours of instrumental lullabies.

Whether or not the Tonies Sleepy Friend content calms your child will be impossible to know until you've listened to it firsthand. You might have a sense based on past experiences with audiobooks and recorded songs at bedtime. If your child has scoffed at these in the past, it's unlikely this particular collection will change their mind.

The Sleepy Friends Tonies collection aims to help your child drift peacefully off to sleep. Credit: Tonies

Children who struggle to stay in bed instead of play with toys might also be tempted to handle their Tonies figurines, especially if more than one is available to them in their room.

For parents, the real downside to the Tonies audio player is that it cannot be controlled remotely from an adult's phone. The Tonies competitor Yoto has this functionality, which means that parents can remotely turn on or off audio content and white noise.

But if you want to stop a Toniebox before it's completed all the tracks or put a new Tonies figurine on it, you must sneak into your child's room to physically make the change. Depending on your child, that may require Mission Impossible-level stealthiness.

A similar strategy may be required of parents who decide to use Moonbird's moonbuddy for sleep, too.

Billed as "your child's new best friend in relaxation," the moonbuddy is a handheld, screenfree silicone device that gently inflates and deflates to help encourage calm breathing. With the help of removable sleeves, it can be styled to look like a bird or bear. It costs $89.

Moonbird's moonbuddy is a handheld device for kids designed to encourage calm breathing. Credit: Moonbird

A button on the back of the device can change the breathing rhythm to one of four settings, ranging from 6 to 10.5 breaths per minute. Each exercise is 4 minutes long, after which the moonbuddy shuts off automatically.

Testing in this reporter's household yielded positive reviews from a younger child who used the device prior to falling asleep, but it also prompted that child to call out for parental help to find their moonbuddy in the middle of the night.

Dear reader, it was lost somewhere in the sheets and wasn't discovered until the morning. Anticipating such a scenario, this reporter's husband tried to find it after the child had fallen asleep in order to place it in a prominent location to avoid middle-of-the-night discontent. Alas, upon stealthily entering the child's bedroom after they'd nodded off, this reporter's husband didn't see it, and also didn't dare to dig around for it, for fear of waking up the child.

The child wanted it the next night but their request was not granted, for hopefully obvious reasons, and they forgot all about it within a day.

This is but one anecdotal experience, but Dr. Gozal does question whether children need tech gadgets to help them sleep, if they have the other necessary conditions for sleep. Simpler interventions may make bedtime much easier than any device, he adds.

A warm bath, for example, raises body temperature, which can be conducive to sleepiness.

Still, parents may choose to add a calming tech product to their bedtime routine and find success. If they do, Gozal says just to avoid outsourcing bedtime stories or songs, or other nurturing aspects of the child-parent relationship, to any product.

"That bond cannot be replaced or supplanted by an electronic device," he says.

Recently, I was looking for a small TV to put up above a bartop in our home, but finding anything under 32 inches was almost impossible. It used to be that you could find a small, and often truly small TV without much difficulty—no longer!

SAVE 44%: The Eufy Auto-Empty C10 robot vacuum is on sale for $269.99 at Amazon, discounted from the normal price of $479.99. That's a savings of $210 that matches the lowest price we've ever seen.

Opens in a new window Credit: Eufy Eufy Auto-Empty C10 robot vacuum $269.99 at Amazon
$479.99 Save $210 Get Deal

It's been a few years since you perfected that sourdough loaf recipe. While it's always amazing, there's one issue: crumbs. Instead of adding "vacuum the kitchen" to your to-do list, hand the task off to a robot vacuum. If you don't yet own a cleaning buddy, there's a great deal at Amazon today.

As of May 6, the Eufy Auto-Empty C10 robot vacuum is just $269.99, marked down from the standard list price of $479.99. That's a 44% discount that takes $210 off the price. It also matches the lowest price we've seen.

In the past decade, the brains on robot vacuums have gotten significantly smarter. Instead of worrying if the robot will get stuck under the couch, you can relax, since the Eufy uses Lidar navigation and smart mapping. Combined, these mean the robot vacuum can take off on an independent cleaning adventure. You're able to set the cleaning schedule for the Eufy C10, and you can create no-go zones, so the robot never tries to vacuum up the dog's food. Plus, the self-emptying station contains a 3-liter dust bag, which only needs to be replaced about once every two months.

SEE ALSO: The Eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum and mop is still on sale for its lowest-ever price

This model operates with 4,000Pa suction power, which is ideal for homes with pets, as it can easily rid the carpets and floors of hair and dander. The slim design is convenient for cleaning under furniture to capture the dust bunnies that love to hang out under the bed and below the couch.

Instead of going out of your way to sweep up those crumbs on the kitchen floor, enlist the help of the Eufy Auto-Empty C10. Since it's back down to the lowest price we've seen of $269.99, your home will be in good hands for a good price.

Just a few days ago, we got word that Grand Theft Auto VI wouldn't make it out for 2025 after all. It's been delayed to May 2026, sadly.

That probably made a lot of people sad, but this won't. Rockstar dropped the second trailer for the hotly anticipated open-world crime game as a surprise on Tuesday morning. It's got nearly three minutes of footage, including some story setup for Jason and Lucia, the Bonnie & Clyde-esque crime couple at the center of the narrative. On top of that, you see some of the more colorful characters who inhabit modern-day Vice City, as well as plenty of goofy cultural satire stuff and explosions.

Yeah, this looks like GTA, alright.

OpenAI is buying AI startup Windsurf for the tidy sum of $3 billion.

This is according to a Bloomberg report Tuesday, which claims that the two companies have reached an agreement but that the deal "has not yet closed," with Bloomberg citing people familiar with the matter. If accurate, this would be OpenAI's largest acquisition to date.

Windsurf is an artificial intelligence app that focuses on coding. Formerly known as Codeium, Windsurf is self-described as "the future of software development."

Notably, the news arrived just a day after the OpenAI — the $300 billion company, that is — announced it would remain under control of OpenAI, the nonprofit.

Perhaps even more notably, OpenAI's reported acquisition of Windsurf comes just after Anysphere, which makes the AI coding tool Cursor, reportedly raised $900 million, at a valuation of $9 billion.

What does this mean for ChatGPT?

OpenAI's signature AI chatbot ChatGPT is already a useful tool for coding in its own right. The Pro version offers a few features aimed specifically for developers, including a code interpreter and a live editing, collaborative coding tool called Canvas.

The competition, however, is strong. Anthropic, which makes AI assistant Claude, Microsoft, which owns Github, as well as Anysphere's Cursor, all offer a few of their own AI tools or features that aid programmers.

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Windsurf, in particular, offers Cascade, a chat-based tool that monitors your project's progress, offers suggestions, and detects issues with your code. The company also offers Windsurf Previews, which can run a preview of a website you're building, allowing you to make changes on the fly.

Given that OpenAI and Windsurf declined to comment on Bloomberg's story, it's too early to tell how OpenAI plans to integrate Windsurf's capabilities, should the deal go through. We wouldn't be too surprised if tools such as Cascade and Previews make way into ChatGPT in the future, though.

The Unitree B2 robot is now being adapted for fire rescue operations. In this video we break down the robot’s mobility, firefighting tools, and how it's being used in real-world emergency scenarios. The video also highlights its role in reconnaissance and post-fire monitoring.

As we dive into May, PC gamers are in for another spectacular month. The month brings a fresh wave of action-adventures, unique RPGs, co-op titles, racing games, deck builders, Soulsbornes, and more!

Opens in a new window Credit: Backbone Backbone Pro $169.99 at Backbone
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Backbone has just announced the latest addition to their lineup of popular mobile gaming controllers: The Backbone Pro.

The Pro is designed from the ground up to be your one-stop shop for mobile and cloud gaming, allowing you to play on any screen with one single device. Like earlier Backbone iterations, the controller includes a handheld mode that can connect to your mobile device via USB-C for zero-latency gaming, and doesn't need to be charged. Where the Pro changes things is in its wireless mode, which will allow you to connect to various devices via Bluetooth, like smartphones, tablets, laptops, VR headsets, and smart TVs. Thanks to the controller's FlowState technology, it'll recognize previously connected devices, letting you switch seamlessly between them at a moment's notice.

The physical design of the controller is different, too, employing a more ergonomic fit with full-size joysticks and remappable back buttons. This time, all of the device's other buttons are remappable using the Backbone app, which lets you create multiple profiles tailored to specific games you're playing.

SEE ALSO: The best PlayStation 5 controllers to pair with your new-gen console

Also within the updated Backbone app is a universal hub for all your games, whether you downloaded them from the App Store, Xbox Remote Play, Steam Link, or a cloud gaming platform like Nvidia GeForce Now. The App even has a built-in emulator now, which will give you the opportunity to play retro games. If you're subscribed to Backbone's premium service, Backbone+, you'll get access to a rotating library of free games that you can play at your leisure, some of them including enhanced features exclusively for the Backbone Pro.

The Backbone Pro is available to buy now on Backbone's website for $169.99.

SAVE $300: As of May 6, get the Eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum and mop for $399.99 at Amazon. That's a discount of 43% on list price, and the lowest it has ever been priced at Amazon.

Opens in a new window Credit: Amazon Eufy Omni C20 Robot Vacuum and Mop $399.99 at Amazon
$699.99 Save $300 Get Deal

Are you fed up of doing all the chores around the house? It might be time to upgrade to something that can handle the workload without complaint.

As of May 6, get the Eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum and mop for $399.99 at Amazon. This deal saves you $300 on list price, and marks the lowest-ever price on Amazon according to tracker camelcamelcamel.

SEE ALSO: The 3 best robot vacuums for apartments, condos, and other small spaces

This popular robot vacuum and mop combo can do (almost) everything you need without your input. It automatically empties its reservoir after cleaning, washes and dries the mop with room-temperature air, and shows how much water is left in its tank thanks to the clear reservoir. It also has dual sweeping and mopping modules so it can clean more efficiently. It offers 7,000 Pa of suction with a rolling brush and side brush, handling pet hair like a pro.

Get the Eufy Omni C20 robot vacuum and mop for its lowest-ever price on Amazon.

"Pro" gaming controllers are a whole concept in and of themselves, but they often involve better-quality materials, back programmable macro triggers, and a whole lot of extra features made for real gamers. If you've thought about whether you can buy one for your phone, the Backbone Pro might just be what you want, and it's looking pretty good.

Samsung Electronics just announced a major update to its Samsung Wallet app. The company is introducing a new Tap to Transfer feature for easy peer-to-peer payments, competing directly with Cash App, PayPal, Venmo, and other similar services.

On May 6, Oura Ring announced that it is bringing two new features to its smart ring app — AI-powered meal tracking and glucose monitoring.

Oura Ring is the best smart ring on the market (according to Mashable's tests, at least), and its holistic approach to health tracking helps users make decisions to improve their wellbeing. Now, the company is launching two new metabolic health tools in its app.

Best Oura Ring offers Oura Ring 4 $349 Shop Now Oura Ring App $5.99 Shop Now Oura Ring Sizing Kit $10 Shop Now Oura Ring and Dexcom Glucose Monitoring

Oura's glucose monitoring is a result of the brand's Dexcom partnership. Dexcom, a healthcare company specializing in round-the-clock glucose monitoring, usually specializes in diabetes management, but their Stelo Glucose Biosensor is made for individuals with type 2 diabetes or prediabetes who are not on insulin. However, it's also suitable for anyone curious about monitoring their blood sugar levels.

Alongside all your daily Oura Ring data, Stelo users can now track their Glucose levels. Credit: Oura

Glucose feedback is available 24/7 in the Oura app, though you will need the Stelo biosensor. Working with the glucose sensor, the app breaks down how glucose levels might be affected by sleep, activity, stress, and nutrition. It also delivers a "Time Above Range" metric, which tells users how much time they've spent above the optimal glucose level and what changes can be made to stay in range. But to incorporate nutrition into the glucose equation, Oura is also introducing another new feature.

Oura Ring Meals Tracking Just by taking a photo, Oura's AI will analyze your meals and their nutritional value. Credit: Oura

The Oura Rings Meals tool allows users to log their meals and get feedback from Oura's AI on their overall nutritional value. While meal tracking tools often recall the calorie-tracking stress of diet culture, the company wants to avoid this trap. To track meals, users upload photos of their meals to the Oura app. The photos are analyzed through AI to produce an overview of their nutritional content and provide feedback.

Meals is about more than just counting calories, Oura Ring says. The nutritional breakdowns focus on protein, fiber, fats, sugars, and carbs. And the insights that Oura provides aren't going to be scolding, like a parent nagging you to eat all your vegetables. Instead, the Oura Advisor gives non-judgmental feedback based on users' own goals. Meals is a permanent feature in the Oura app, and both features are available now to all United States-based Oura members.

In addition to the price of an Oura Ring, Oura memberships costs $5.99 a month or $69.99 annually. The Stelo Glucose Biosensor is available to purchase directly from Oura's website or via Amazon for $99.

A good night's sleep is the best gift you can give yourself, but with the constant cycle of bad news and increased stress of daily life, it's no surprise that many of us are tossing and turning at night rather than catching some z's. A 2023 study out of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston found that just 31 percent of people are getting the recommended seven or more hours of sleep a night. If you're part of the other 69 percent, then consider a sleep tracker.

Sleep trackers — wearable devices that monitor all your vitals — provide detailed summaries of your sleep cycle so you know how many hours of REM, deep, and light sleep you're getting. Most fitness trackers come equipped with sleep tracking these days, but choosing the best from that bunch is not relatively as straightforward. These days, sleep trackers come in all shapes and sizes, and luckily, our experts here at Mashable have tested all of them.

If your sleepmaxxing routine of magnesium supplements and pillow sprays isn't cutting it, here are the best sleep trackers of 2025.

The Dodow is an unassuming object: About three inches in diameter, it sort of resembles a coaster. But it's a sleep device that's pretty well beloved, albeit pricey, and very simple to use.

Armed with a blue light and three AAA batteries, the Dodow sits on your nightstand and helps guide your breathing as you try to drift to sleep. The device has two "breathing modes," one eight-minute exercise and one 20-minute exercise. If you change your mind midway through the eight-minute mode, you can also switch to the 20-minute mode without restarting the whole sequence, which I thought was a nice touch. 

Once you select your mode, you'll notice that a circle of blue light will be projected onto the ceiling above your bed. The beam of light will expand and contract rhythmically: Your job is to lie on your back, inhale when the light expands, and exhale when the light contracts. Before long, Dodow promises, "sleep will come."

What works

Adding light of any kind to a sleep routine feels like a dangerous game: There's plenty of research confirming light's adverse effects on sleep. But the Dodow's blue light at least felt soft and unobtrusive, bright enough to show up on the ceiling but not so bright that it prevented me from falling asleep. 

The breathing exercises were pleasant and calming, although I'm not sure they ever caused me to slumber. Still, I often don't have much decompression time before hitting the hay, so it was nice to concentrate on something other than my own mile-a-minute thoughts. Meditative indeed! 

I could see the Dodow working especially well for travel: it's lightweight and easy to pack, and it would be handy for nights when it's hard to fall asleep in a new place. (Plus, you can buy a cute round carrying case for it.) Further evidence: the company has a partnership with Air France, which provides the devices to its flight staff.

What doesn't quite work

Again, it's hard for me to say whether the Dodow actually caused me to fall asleep. While I enjoy using the device, its effects still feel a bit mysterious.

In addition, the Dodow is probably not a great choice if you hate sleeping on your back. Fortunately, I don't mind sleeping on my back — it tends to soothe my sciatica — so this wasn't an issue for me. If you're a side or stomach sleeper, though, you'll have no way of watching the blue light. (I suppose there might be some kind of creative workaround for side sleepers, but that seems like a lot of work to figure out.) 

I also struggled with the Dodow's battery cover falling off frequently, though this may have been an issue confined to my unit.

Is the Dodow worth it?

Let's be honest: $60 is pretty expensive for a device with pretty one-note functionality. If it's just meditation or breathing exercises you're after, you'd do just as well with a meditation app. And if you want a white noise or other sound component, Dodow isn't the fix for you.

Dodow's big advantage, in my view, is that it's completely untethered to other devices. It doesn't connect to your phone or smart home hub, so you can leave all your other tech in another room (as is recommended) for bedtime.

What softens the cost is the company's 100-day free trial, which lets you try the Dodow for 100 nights before determining whether it's right for you. If it's not your thing, you can return it for a full refund.

So you've finally nailed your sleep routine. Congratulations! Lights dimmed, white noise on, alarm set for the wake-up time that gives you five perfect REM cycles — you're about to be well-rested to the max. 

But there's a way to streamline your sleep setup even more: by creating a routine using your Alexa device. This will ready your room for bedtime with a single voice command. Here's how to do it, in just four easy steps.

Step 1: Make sure your devices are connected to Alexa

First, you'll want to make sure all the devices involved in your bedtime routine are connected to your Alexa app, so they'll be available options when you're constructing your routine. Just head to "Devices" in the Alexa app, select the plus sign, and click "Add device." 

From there, you can choose the type and brand of the device you want to connect and add it to your Alexa-compatible lineup.

SEE ALSO: I tested sleep earbuds for over a month: Here are the 3 best pairs Step 2: Create a routine in the Alexa app

Next, you'll create your routine. Open the Alexa app and select "More," then select "Routines." From there, press the plus sign. You'll be directed to start a new routine.

Step 3: Set your voice command "event"

This part's fun: Click on "When this happens" and you'll be directed to select the voice command to trigger your bedtime routine. This could be as simple as "Start my night routine," or you can get a little creative. 

For example, if you're creating a bedtime routine for a child, consider picking something they'll have fun saying themselves. Getting to shout "night night!" every evening could make bedtime a little more enjoyable, right?

Choosing a quirky or unusual command is also helpful because you're less likely to accidentally say it at other points during the day. (Simply using the word "sleep," for example, might be too much of a hazard.) You don't want to set off your bedtime routine when it is not, in fact, bedtime.

Step 4: Design your routine

Finally, you'll select "Add action" and choose the components of your routine. This could be:

• Turning the temperature on your Nest thermostat to 65 degrees Fahrenheit (an optimal sleep temperature)

• Playing a white noise playlist or a relaxing bedtime song

• Dimming or switching off the lights (you'll need smart bulbs for this one) or fading lamps to 0 percent brightness over time as you doze off

• Starting up a relaxing scent diffuser, like the Pura Mini

• Setting your alarm for the next morning

• Firing up an Alexa-compatible sleep tracker, like Amazon's Halo Rise or one of our picks for the best sleep trackers.

Good night! We hope you're ready for the sweetest dreams ever.

UPDATE: Apr. 24, 2025, 4:30 p.m. EDT Following President Trump's tariffs, the Ozlo Sleepbuds increased in price from $299 to $349 on Ozlo's website and Amazon in the United States. We'll be evaluating whether we can still recommend them as our upgrade pick at this increased price point, and will update this guide once we make a decision. Below is our guide as it was written when the earbuds were priced at $299.

Getting proper sleep can help improve nearly every aspect of your health, but over a third of adults in the United States don't get enough of it, according to the CDC.

If a noisy environment is what's keeping you up at night, you've likely considered foam earplugs, but those are no longer the only option available on the market — reusable earplugs and sleep earbuds offer a more convenient alternative.

I spent the past month and a half trying out earplugs and earbuds ranging from $50 to $300 to find the best of what's out on the market — and to see if getting earbuds just for sleep is actually worth it.

How are sleep earbuds different than normal earbuds?

First, a confession: I used to wear AirPods nearly every night to sleep. More accurately, I used to wear a single AirPod so I could actually sleep on my side.

After testing earbuds designed for sleeping, I can tell you that everyday earbuds don't match up to the sleep earbud experience. For starters, standard earbuds aren't designed to be worn while you're lying on your side, so they often stick out of your ears and put hard plastic in contact with your ear. Not to mention, earbuds typically cap out at six to seven hours of battery life per charge, so if you're getting at least eight hours of sleep, you run the risk of interrupting it with the sound of your earbuds powering off.

Sleep earbuds, like the Soundcore A20 ones pictured in the middle, have a much thinner profile than traditional earbuds. Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable

Sleep earbuds, on the other hand, can offer white noise options, better battery life, and significantly more comfort (that actually allows you to wear more than one earbud at a time). The pairs I tested came without microphones and with touch controls that worked but were less sensitive than traditional earbuds, so you can lie on your side without activating them. There aren't really any options for active noise cancellation, but you'd be surprised at how well passive noise cancellation and a good fit can do for most nighttime noises.

SEE ALSO: The 7 best earbuds to buy in 2025 from Bose, Sony, and more Is it safe to wear earbuds to sleep every night?

First and foremost, it's important to consider that sleep earbuds aren't the only way to approach nighttime noises that might be keeping you up.

I consulted Dr. Ashley Kita, an otolaryngologist and assistant professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at UCLA, to discuss any risks associated with wearing earbuds all night. While she didn't warn against using earbuds, she suggested that if what's keeping you up is a partner's snoring, you start looking for solutions there.

"If you're doing all of this to avoid a partner who is snoring, sometimes gently encouraging that person to investigate why they're snoring is kind of an important consideration," Kita said. "Because we find that obstructive sleep apnea is really underdiagnosed, and snoring, for some people, is the only sign of it."

If, however, what's keeping you up is less in your control, then you do want to be aware of three main aspects of using earbuds all night: proper hygiene, safe noise levels, and your ear comfort.

Proper hygiene

When I started testing these earbuds, I realized I was now wearing earbuds uninterrupted for longer than I typically would in the course of a day, even as someone who tests headphones for a living. When I asked Dr. Kita how that wear time might raise someone's risk for infection, she drew a comparison to the wear time of hearing aids:

"Many individuals wear hearing aids for longer hours during the day than they sleep at night," she said. And yet, folks who wear hearing aids don't often have ear infections, though long wear times may increase their risk.

SEE ALSO: How to set up Hearing Aid mode on your AirPods

With the long wear times, Kita said the main concern she could anticipate was wax buildup since the natural path for wax to exit the ear canal would be blocked. However, she said it's not necessarily a cause for concern, as wax can typically exit the ear canal at other points during the day when you're not wearing earbuds (or blocking your ear canal in any other way).

As for any heightened infection risk, Kita shared that it can increase when there's greater wax buildup that can then trap bacteria. She recommended cleaning the buds with isopropyl alcohol and a cotton pad after each use, if possible. (The brand behind one of our picks below, Ozlo, recommends a weekly cleaning). With all that said, someone's risk for infection really comes down to personal susceptibility — some people are more prone to ear infections than others. If you fall into that category, being more proactive about cleaning your earbuds is a good practice.

Noise levels

Noise-induced hearing loss is the second most common type of hearing loss (behind age-related hearing loss), so it's important to be aware of the level of noise you expose yourself to. Kita pointed me in the direction of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) chart for how long people can be exposed to certain decibel levels safely.

In its FAQ, Ozlo also cites OSHA's recommendation, as well as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's recommendations, which top out at 90 decibels and 85 decibels for eight hours, respectively. With that in mind, Ozlo designed its earbuds so that their masking white noise tops out at 75 dB. We reached out to a rep from Soundcore to see if its earbuds have specific upper decibel limits, and will update this guide when we hear back. In general though, Kita said the less noise, the better, recommending that you always try to use the lowest volume possible.

SEE ALSO: Video game industry makes it easier to find accessible games for disabled players

"While I don't necessarily love the idea of extra noise when you're not even conscious to appreciate it, if it's the thing that's keeping you asleep or letting you sleep, it just comes in this category of risks and benefits," Kita said. "Just make sure that it's quiet enough, then it really isn't that much different than using a white noise machine on your nightstand."

Comfort

Earbuds fitting comfortably is important for you to be able to fall asleep, but also for your ear health.

"Everyone's ear canal is shaped differently," Kita said. "And so something that might be really comfortable for your ears might really cause my ears to ache."

In other words, giving yourself earbuds-induced earaches every night can actually impact your ear health. If one of the below recommendations really isn't sitting right, even with adjustments to the ear tip sizes, don't be afraid to return them.

The best earbuds for sleeping

Below, I pulled three of the best sleep earbuds on the market. Between the overall, upgrade, and earplug picks, there's a wide range of price points, but as with any product, the most expensive of the bunch isn't necessarily the best overall. With that in mind, I highlighted where each earbud excelled, whether that be in comfort, noise cancellation, or ease of use, to help you pick the best sleep earbud possible.

SAVE $20: As of May 6, the Fitbit Inspire 3 fitness tracker is on sale for $79.95 at Amazon. That's 20% off its list price of $99.95.

Opens in a new window Credit: Fitbit Fitbit Inspire 3 $79.95 at Amazon
$99.95 Save $20 Get Deal

Investing in a fitness tracker doesn't need to break the bank. If you're looking for a more affordable option to aid you in staying on top of your health and fitness goals, there are plenty to choose from. Our favorite budget fitness tracker, the Fitbit Inspire 3, is currently on sale.

The Fitbit Inspire 3 is marked down to $79.95 at Amazon, a 20% discount from its list price of $99.95. It's currently listed as a limited-time deal, so it's best to jump on this deal now if it has caught your eye.

SEE ALSO: Score the Fitbit Sense 2 for under $200 for a limited time

This little band comes with all-day activity tracking, 24/7 heart rate tracking, 20+ exercise modes, and it even features a daily Stress Management Score to help you stay calm and focused on your health and fitness goals. As mentioned before, we consider it the best budget fitness tracker and our review had high praise for it upon release, with writer Sam Stone saying, "For just under $100, the Fitbit Inspire 3 packs so many great health metrics and fitness tracking into a small wearable."

Don't miss out on 20% off the Fitbit Inspire 3 at Amazon.

If you're curious to see some more fitness tracker deals, you can also save on the Fitbit Versa 4 right now at Amazon.

SAVE $100: As of May 6, the Beats Solo 4 headphones are on sale for $99.95 at Amazon. That's 50% off their list price of $199.95.

Opens in a new window Credit: Beats Beats Solo 4 $99.95 at Amazon
$199.95 Save $100.00 Get Deal

Summer is coming up fast, and if you've got travel plans this year, it's nice to have a pair of headphones to keep you occupied on any long journeys. Thankfully, there are some great deals available right now on top brands.

The Beats Solo 4 headphones are 50% off right now at Amazon. This has dropped the price of the Beats Solo 4 from $199.95 to $99.95, saving you $100 on list price. This also marks a return to their lowest-ever price, so if they've caught your eye there's no better time to pick them up.

SEE ALSO: The 9 best headphones of 2025

With a comfortable design and up to 50 hours of battery life, the Beats Solo 4 can keep you busy with good music, audiobooks, podcasts, and more for hours. Whatever you choose to listen to will sound great, and with features like Personalized Spatial Audio, you'll always feel fully immersed.

There's no better time than now to upgrade your headphones, so don't miss out on 50% off the Beats Solo 4 at Amazon.

If you'd prefer to pick up earbuds instead, the AirPods 4 (without ANC) are also discounted at Amazon. And if you're on the lookout for headphones for working out, the SHOKZ OpenRun Pro 2 are also on sale there right now.

SNL has a massive following in the U.S., but how would that popularity translate to the UK?

Appearing on Late Night on Monday, John Oliver gives host Seth Meyers his thoughts on the very real possibility of a UK spin-off — and he doesn't beat around the bush.

"It sounds like a terrible idea," says Oliver. "We have had sketch comedy before, and it just feels like Saturday Night Live is a unique group...it's a cult. I don't know how you're going to impose that cult onto the UK."

For what it's worth, he's equally (if not more) sceptical about Universal opening up a theme park in Bedford.

The Last of Us Season 2 has already been packed with brutal moments, but there's been some beauty in there too. Ellie (Bella Ramsey) playing a cover of A-ha's "Take On Me" to Dina (Isabela Merced) after finding a working guitar in episode 4 has got to be one of the most moving scenes so far — and now you can rewatch it to your heart's content on YouTube.

For an explanation of why Ellie plays that song in particular, we've got you covered.

The Last of Us Season 2 is now streaming on Max. New episodes air weekly on Sundays 9 p.m. ET on HBO.