Airpods While Sleeping [ The Good, Bad, & Ugly

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As we get older, a peaceful mind can become rare. But it is a prerequisite for a good night’s sleep. As a remedy, many listen to some relaxing and soothing music. But headphones are rather bulky to sleep in and wired earphones are a total pain to manage while on bed. This leaves us to wonder, are AirPods good for sleeping?

Sleeping with AirPods can be beneficial to sleep for many.  First of all, you don’t get any unwanted wire tangles in bed. The AirPod Pro has a tighter fit.  So, it is great to wear while you are lying down.

You may find many other great benefits to sleeping with AirPods. But you cannot expect only benefits from this practice as without proper use, you can face some dangers.

You need to understand all potential dangers involved with sleeping with AirPods to avoid such situations from ever happening.

How AirPods Can Help You Sleep Better? 

Judging from you reading this article, I can guess you are wondering, how can a pair of headphones help you sleep better.

Truly speaking, in many ways. Let’s take a look at some of those below:

Relaxation with White Noise

No doubt, listening to some slow music or podcasts can be one of the best ways to unwind down after a stressful day. We have all experienced our minds racing when we are alone in our bed.

Just a long day at work or the exam approaching soon and other stuff can weigh your mind down.

Taking your mind off of all these stressful thoughts is important so you can have a peaceful sleep. With some relaxing music or podcasts playing in your AirPods, this can be done with ease.

Numerous studies have shown that listening to some good music can trigger the relaxation response in your body. Your heartbeat and breathing will slow down sending you to sleep quickly.

Boosts All Your Happy Brain Chemicals

Listening to music is a great way to boost dopamine release in your body and stimulates serotonin. Both are happy brain chemicals that are associated with making you feel happy and relaxed.

Doing anything you like- achieving your goals, eating your favorite food, listening to music, podcast, or watching a good movie or ASMR can induce your brain to release dopamine.

With some AirPods in and some relaxing music on, you get these natural chemicals working in your body and go to sleep easier than ever.

Shuts Out Offensive Noises

When you live in the city, it’s not rare to hear construction work going on outside or the noise coming from the streets. With such terrible noise traveling to your ears, it can be hard to fall asleep. But with some AirPods, any loud and excessive noise can be easily blocked out.

Especially AirPod Pro is designed to have a tighter fit when you are lying down. This is a better choice to cancel out any noise that may disrupt your sweet sleep.

Great Treatment for PTSD and Insomnia

Some people suffer from PTSD or insomnia and many among them associate their bedrooms with frustration and a lack of sleep.

I’ve already mentioned that there are studies that have shown that some good music can combat this anxiety and relax the individual.

Play some music on your AirPods and it can be very effective to distract you from all the anxious and troubling thoughts. This encourages your mental and physical relaxation that’s a must to fall asleep.

What Are the Dangers of Sleeping with AirPods?

When you are using them appropriately, you should find no harm in sleeping with AirPods. But I cannot say the same for using them inappropriately and there are many harms involved in such practice.

You need to be aware of all the issues involved so you can avoid them in the future. All the side effects you may experience are:

Ear Wax Buildup

Prolonged use of AirPods and pushing them deeper in your ears more than recommended can be a risky practice. This can result in an excess amount of earwax build-up in the ear canals.

If you are sleeping for more than 7-9 hours each night, the AirPod can block your ear canals. This can eventually lead to further major problems such as infection, hearing loss, and pain.

To avoid such problems make sure to clean your ears regularly and remove any excess wax. But make sure you are careful when you do this as ears are a very important part of your body.

It is advised you see a specialist (ENT) physician for this.

Vulnerability to Otitis Externa

When you are wearing AirPods regularly for a prolonged period, you may face a condition named Otitis Externa. It is an infection of the ear canal and happens from bacteria build-up.

It starts with irritation in your ear canal and may lead to the ear canal area slowly giving out and fluid entering your ear.

Otitis Externa is a common infection among people who wear headphones regularly. You can clean your AirPods regularly with a cotton swab dipped in some rubbing alcohol to wipe away all the bacteria and debris.

Though, I should warn you again to DIY this and see a qualified physician.

Issues with Safety

The noise-canceling feature of an AirPod may be an incredible feature for a good night’s sleep, but maybe not so much for your safety. It may block out any important sounds and leave you vulnerable to many risks.

Sleeping with AirPods can prevent you from hearing emergency phone calls, the fire alarm, or even a possible break-in. So you can try sleeping with only one AirPod.

Necrosis

Necrosis is a condition that happens because of a lack of blood flow to cells and tissues of an organ. The condition causes them to die off. Even the skin of your ears may slowly start giving away.

Necrosis can happen when you are wearing AirPods that don’t fit well and there is extra pressure on the tissues of your ear canal. So make sure the AirPods you get are the right fit.

So, next time you wonder, Should I wear AirPods to bed? remember these cautionary words. Even though AirPods are great, personally I would recommend getting a nice pair of speakers for listening to music while sleeping. 

How To Keep Airpods from Falling Out While You Are Asleep?

It’s no surprise to us that AirPods tend to fall out often. When you are lying down, this can happen a bit more often. To tackle this, you can simply adjust the position a bit better. Roughly turn your AirPods 30 degrees and bring them to a horizontal position. This should make them stick out outwardly from your ears and be much more stable.

Another solution can be buying some comfortable ear hooks. They work with both regular AirPods and AirPods Pro. They are useful in keeping the AirPods firmly in place throughout the night.

But I would recommend not keeping them on the whole time you are sleeping. Since AirPods last about 5 hours in total, it might be better for them to fall out in between your sleep.

Conclusion

Many studies prove how effective music can be in enhancing your sleep. If you are suffering from a lack of sleep, you might be curious to know are AirPods good for sleeping? In this article, I have shared all the benefits you enjoy and any potential danger you may face from this practice.

I hope the article has proved useful to you. If you are looking for grey noise and not music or podcasts then you should check out Bose Sleepbuds II also as a perfect sleep option.

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