Hearing a smoke detector or my kid calling me from downstairs in the middle of the night is essential, and I’m obviously thankful I get woken up. But over the past few years, it seems my sense of hearing has escalated to superhero status: every little noise wakes me up. When my sleep is interrupted, it takes me a while to fall back to sleep, and I wake up feeling so groggy and unrested. I needed to get a good night of sleep! My husband suggested that I try sleeping with noise-reducing earplugs. Would they help? Would I still be able to hear my kids calling me? I tried them for two weeks to find out.
What’s It Like Sleeping With Noise-Reducing Earplugs?
When I tried these Loop noise-reducing earplugs ($25) on the first night, to be honest, the pressure in my ears was very uncomfortable. But then I switched the little rubber ear tips for smaller ones, and they felt great.
What I noticed right away is that all the little background house noises I would normally hear faded away. I couldn’t hear the whir of the fan, my dog’s nail’s on the wooden floor, her jingling collar, cars driving by outside, or my husband flipping pages in his book when reading in bed. All I could hear was the quietness of my own breath. I was able to focus on deepening my inhales and exhales and use the first few minutes when my head hit the pillow to meditate or to quiet my mind from the day’s worries or tomorrow’s to-do list.
Did Wearing Noise-Reducing Earplugs Help Me Sleep?
The first night I slept with earplugs was amazing! Even my FitBit sleep tracker reflected a better night of sleep. I barely woke up — if I did I didn’t remember — and I felt more rested. Every night that week was the same. The earplugs absolutely blocked out the little noises that normally would wake me up, including my husband’s snoring and my dog scratching on the bed, which are the two main reasons I’d get woken up. I would describe it as taking the edge off of sound; like I was sleeping underneath a comforting blanket of calm coziness.
My bedroom is upstairs and my kids’ bedrooms are downstairs on the main floor, so I was a little nervous that I wouldn’t hear if they needed me. But these earplugs only reduce noise by 20 decibels, so I was still able to hear important noises like my kids yelling for me, or my dog barking at something walking outside in the yard (it was just a cat, but could have been a sketchy person!).
Will I Keep Sleeping With Noise-Reducing Earplugs?
A million times YES! Now that I’ve been sleeping with these Loop earplugs every night for more than two weeks, I can’t imagine not sleeping with them. I like that I can block out the startling noises that wake me and prevent me from falling back to sleep, but I can still hear the important sounds. The Loop earplugs are unbelievably lightweight, and I love that the little circles looks like jewelry (not foam). They come with a tiny carrying case, so I can bring them on trips if I want to snooze in the car or to ensure I sleep well when I’m not at home. If you have issues with noises interrupting your sleep, I would 100 percent recommend trying earplugs!