Is It Bad to Sleep with Headphones On?
Many people have a rough time sleeping in loud environments, and listening to soothing music on headphones is a popular method to block outdoor noises. Soothing music, like piano and white noise, can also help individuals relax before dropping off to sleep by lowering the heart rate and relieving stress.
But is it safe to sleep with headphones? Or maybe you are running the risk of causing damage to your ears even when you're not listening to music? Experts reiterate and debunk why sleeping with headphones can be safe if you have the right kind of headphones and you keep the volume at a lower level.
Why Do People Sleep with Headphones?
When people listen to music while sleeping, it can quickly end up being a routine if the results are excellent and positive. Music helps to promote a night of deep and quality sleep, given that you wisely pick the right tunes that will make you feel relaxed and hassle-free. Putting your earphones on before sleeping might signal the body that it's time to sleep. Because they have trained their bodies to sleep when used on, it is much simpler to sleep when individuals put their earphones on.
Have You Thought If It Is Bad to Sleep with Headphones On?
Can you sleep with headphones on? Yes, enjoying a good night's sleep while wearing headphones is possible. Going to sleep with a music on your ears has a lot of advantages for your holistic self, such as:
- Relaxation: A wide range of studies reveal that listening to the ideal type of music induces a relaxation response in your body. It decreases your breathing and heart rate, enabling you to let go of the tensions and stress of the day and fall into a deep sleep rapidly.
- Noise-free bedtime environment:Sleeping with headphones shuts out loud and excessive noises that can keep you up all night. A good headphone needs to be able to eliminate traffic noises if you're in the city or your partner snoring like a speaker next to you.
- Dopamine-enriched habit:Your brain also launches dopamine when you listen to anything you like, including music. This natural enriched chemical helps you feel good so you can fall straight to your bed and sleep more easily.
Is sleeping with headphones bad? When headphones are misused, they can cause harm to your ears. The following are some disadvantages and side-effects you might warn with:
- Ear Wax Accumulation: If you use headphones that sit a little longer in your ear, you may risk building ear wax in your ears. If a lot of ear wax develops with time, it might be tough to eliminate it without triggering damage to your ears.
- Concerns of Safety: If you wear noise cancelling headphones to sleep, then probably risk your safety to hear emergency alarm ringing while you're asleep or someone trying to intrude on your house. This can have devastating results, especially throughout emergencies.
- Otitis Externa: This is the name of a condition that involves irritation to your ear canal. In the worst-case scenario, the skin around your ear canal area will slowly break and trigger fluid entering the ear.
How to Sleep with Headphones?
If you want to sleep with headphones, you can get a pillow that makes headphones listening easy and comforts sleep time. You might check out a pillow with a hole initially produced for people who need to ease ear pain after ear surgical treatment or are experiencing ear discomfort. Due to the fact that a pillow with a hole on it alleviates pressure from the earcup that's pushing against the pillow, it's also the perfect and ideal pillow for side sleepers who use headphones.
What Are the Best Noise Cancelling Headphones for Sleeping?
Utilizing headphones while listening to your favourite music doesn't just aid you to sleep much better for a night. It helps you minimize stress in the long run so you can become much healthier, happier well-being. If you are looking for the best noise cancelling headphones for sleeping, you might consider the star product from soundcore - Sleep A20!

- Full Night of Peaceful Sleep: Equipped with a range of features, experience our exclusive 4-Point Noise Masking System, Twin-Seal ear tips with 3x stronger Passive Noise Blocking, sound masking, and Smart Volume Control to prevent unwanted noise.
- Ideal for Side Sleepers: Sleep A20 utilizes the combined efforts of soundcore’s Air Wing and 3D ergonomic design—wrapped in an ultra-soft material—for the added benefit of pressureless comfort, even when sleeping on your side.
- Ultra-Long Playtime: Sleep mode boasts 14 hours of battery life on a single charge, extended to 80 hours with the case. Bluetooth mode offers 10 hours of playtime, with an additional 55 hours via the charging case.
- Peacefully Stream Content via Bluetooth: Curate your sleep soundtrack with a stable Bluetooth 5.3 connection and a customizable white noise library to compose a perfect night's sleep.
- Sleep Analytics for Better Sleep: Using a MEMS sensor, Sleep A20 tracks sleeping positions and movement through the night. Coupled with a Real-Time Clock, enjoy precise sleep quality analysis and gain invaluable insight into your nocturnal habits.
- soundcore Sleep A20 is one of the best headphones for sleeping. It is designed to enhance your sleep quality with their exclusive 4-Point Noise Masking System, which includes Twin-Seal ear tips providing three times stronger passive noise blocking. Ideal for side sleepers, these earbuds feature a 3D ergonomic design wrapped in ultra-soft material, ensuring pressure-free comfort throughout the night. With up to 14 hours of battery life in sleep mode and an additional 80 hours with the charging case, they offer extended playtime. The earbuds also provide sleep analytics, tracking your sleeping positions and movements to help you achieve better rest.
- Life Q30

- Advanced Noise Cancellation Technology: Maintain your focus with Life Q30’s hybrid active noise cancellation. Dual noise-detecting microphones pick up and filter out up to 95% of low-frequency ambient sound to ensure nothing distracts you from your music.
- Ultimate Noise Cancellation Experience: Customize Life Q30’s noise cancellation with 3 modes—Transport minimizes airplane engine noise, Outdoor reduces traffic and wind, and Indoor dampens the sound of busy offices with people talking in the background.
- Hi-Res Music: Hear every detail of your favorite songs thanks to Life Q30’s 40mm drivers. The highly-flexible silk diaphragms reproduce thumping bass and crisp treble that extends up to 40kHz for improved clarity.
- 40-Hour Playtime: Life Q30 active noise cancelling headphones play up to 40 hours of music in noise cancelling mode. Standard mode extends the playtime to 60 hours, while a short 5-minute charge gives you 4 hours of listening.
- Pressure-Free Comfort: Life Q30 active noise cancelling headphones have ultra-soft protein leather earcups with memory foam padding to fit snugly over your ears. The lightweight build also ensures they’re comfortable for long listening sessions.
- TCO Certified: For Better Sustainability.
- Note: ANC is not compatible with an AUX Cable connection.
With the hybrid active sound cancellation of Life Q30, you can now maintain your focus and relaxation. Its dual noise-detecting microphones filter out approximately 95% of low-frequency ambient sound to ensure nothing distracts you from your music all night long!
- Life Q20+

- Incredible Sound Loved by 20 Million+ People
- Hi-Res Audio: Custom oversized 40 mm dynamic drivers produce Hi-Res Audio—a certification only awarded to devices capable of producing exceptional sound. Music is reproduced with high frequencies that reach up to 40kHz for stunning clarity and detail.
- Reduce Ambient Noises By Up to 90%: Life Q20+ has 4 ANC microphones and a digital active noise cancellation algorithm to detect and cancel out a wider range of low and mid-frequency noises such as cars and airplane engines.
- Extended Playtime: Enjoy 40 hours of playtime in wireless noise cancelling mode (at 60% volume) or 60 hours’ in standard mode. Also enjoy 4 hours of listening when you charge Life Q20+ active noise cancelling headphones for just 5 minutes.
- Multipoint Connection: Connect Life Q20+ active noise cancelling headphones to 2 devices at once via your local Bluetooth network and seamlessly switch between them.
Life Q20+ has 4 ANC microphones and a digital active sound cancellation algorithm that can cancel and filter out a broader range of low and mid-frequency background noises such as vehicles and aircraft engines.
FAQ about Is It Bad to Sleep with Headphones on
Can Sleeping with Headphones Cause Headaches?
A lot of headsets cause headaches when used for an extended period of time, along with when they are faulty products in the first place. However, you can prevent common kinds of earphone headaches if you stop using your earphone for an excessive amount of time. In moderation, it is ok to sleep with headphones on.
Is Sleeping with Music Bad?
No. In fact, music can improve our quality of sleep by calming the parts of our autonomous nervous system. This phenomenon causes slower breathing, lower heart rate, and lowered blood pressure in the human body.
Does Sleeping with Headphones Cause Cancer?
The short answer is no. It does not trigger cancer. Many people ask this as they probably hear about the electromagnetic waves that originate from these headphones. There is no connection between headphones and cancer.
Final Thoughts
To conclude, most of us probably wonder how to sleep with headphones and what are the implications of doing so. But now that you know the various benefits and risks of sleeping with headphones based on this article, perhaps you can weigh whether it is a good idea. If you're set on preparing for your next sleep cycle, you can sleep with headphones only if you're prepared to keep the volume down of your headphones when wearing them. Furthermore, never leave it to your ears overnight to avoid future risks from piling up.