Sometimes, trying to fall asleep can be exhausting.I live off a busy avenue in New York City, so bedtime is accompanied by the whoosh of traffic, the shriek of sirens, and, in summer, the infuriating thump of bass from the occasional rooftop party.Inside my home, matters aren’t much better, with the hiss of my husband’s CPAP machine, the din of a late-night game being watched in the next room, and the clackety-clack of a last-century heating unit I’m too cheap to replace.Then there’s the echo chamber that is my brain, where anxious thoughts somehow create more racket than anything actually spoken.On those nights when the noise just kept coming, I’d reach for my earbuds to pipe in white noise, a meditation, or a story. My mind would be put at ease — but my body would feel sheer misery.I’m a side sleeper, and lying on my back to accommodate earbuds is about as sleep-inducing a position to me as standing. So while I’d be taken on an aural journey to Maui, complete with crashing waves, I always found it hard to ignore the headphone jamming against my ear.This prompted a lot of tossing and turning. I’d try to crook my elbow under my head and fit my ear into the open space. When that arm would get numb, I’d switch sides. Or I’d flop onto my stomach and rest my head on my fist to accommodate my ears. None of that was ideal.So when I read about the Soundcore Sleep A20 earbuds in Wirecutter’s guide to sleep headphones, I was excited to try them out. Small and squishy, the earbuds seemed like the perfect headphones for a noise-sensitive side sleeper like me. After just one night with them, sleeping comfortably on my side, I was convinced. Designed with soft materials and no protrusions, the earbuds didn’t put any pressure on my ears, no matter what position I slept in. I could hardly believe it.Top pickThese tiny wireless earbuds sound great, block noise, and can play customizable preloaded sounds or stream audio from your Bluetooth device. Cushioned wings make them comfortable for side sleepers, too.A year later, I can attest that these headphones are, in fact, unbelievably comfortable (though experts don’t recommend wearing things in your ears every single night, so I wear mine only a few times a week).The secret is in the design. Soundcore’s sleep headphones, like many earbuds, have detachable ear tips. But these little caps are made with a silicone that is so light, thin, and pliable, they’re almost feathery. The A20 earbuds also have so-called ear wings, made from the same squishy material, so they gently line the curves of your ear. To help ensure that you find the best fit for you, Soundcore includes a packet of tips and wings in various sizes.As a result, these aren’t buds you just pop in; you need to insert and twist. This way, the tips and wings burrow a bit deeper so that they seal away nuisance noise. They also don’t peek out or create pressure on my ears. An enclosed packet offers instructions for inserting your A20 earbuds, as well as tips and wings to fit a range of ear sizes and preferences. Joanne Chen/NYT WirecutterWhile the A20 headphones don’t offer complete silence — I’m still able to hear my phone’s alarm in the morning — they do take the edge off the din, and the heating unit’s clacking and the sirens’ shrieking melt into the background. They also reduce my husband’s voice to a mumble, forcing me to untwist and dislodge each bud to confirm what he said. This can be annoying, especially because what he said is likely what he always says as he turns off the lights (“Can you make sure I’m up?”). If you prefer a less-occlusive feel, you can opt for perforated tips, which are also included, but they won’t block noise. I haven’t read this paperback since high school, but it was a handy way to show you how delightfully short, plump, and little the case is. The raised triangle near the edge makes it easy to open in the dark. Joanne Chen/NYT WirecutterOf course, the Soundcore Sleep A20 isn’t just a set of comfy earplugs with a nice case. It’s a set of good Bluetooth-enabled headphones that, about three nights a week, have become my bedtime portal to serenity and sleep.To my untrained ears, the sound is clear, even crisp, but you can get the full scoop on the set’s audio quality and battery life in the thorough review by my colleague Lauren Dragan, who, in fact, has extremely trained ears. Suffice it to say that I can at long last comfortably wind down with my bedtime playlist, mask annoying noises with my white noise app, and quiet my brain with a sleep meditation or bedtime story, all while curled up in my preferred side-lying fetal position, with none of my previous tossing and turning.If you haven’t downloaded any sleep apps already, that’s okay. Soundcore’s app has its own library of sleep meditations, stories, and sound-masking options, all without a subscription fee, which is surprising and increasingly rare in the sleep-app world. I’ve been particularly impressed by Soundcore’s expansive soundscape offerings, which include a menu of more than 60 often-eccentric sounds (ducks quacking, an onion being sliced), beyond the usual options like ocean waves and rain, which you can mix and match like an order at Chipotle. If you enjoy drifting off to the sound of toothbrushing or someone pouring beer into a mug, you’re in luck. SoundcoreStill, the Soundcore app isn’t perfect. Its masking sounds seem more electronic than natural, at least compared with those from my dedicated white noise app. The interface can be cluttered, and the sleep tracker (yes, it even has a sleep tracker) can be unintuitive to customize. Lauren kindly explained to me how to adjust some of the app’s settings (like autoplay, which used to startle me) to my liking, but I’m often too tired to bother with its idiosyncrasies.In other words, I paid $150 for quite a few functions that I’m not using, and I’m fine with that. I don’t need the bells and whistles (though if you do, you’ll find even more in Soundcore’s just-released Sleep A30 earbuds). The sense of freedom and control that these earbuds have given me on sleepless nights is priceless, particularly because that wind-down time is so crucial for my sleep.In the year since I’ve had these headphones, I’ve become less anxious about noise and bouts of insomnia, and better at meditating; on nights when I wear them, I often fall asleep before my Sleepcast ends. After some experimentation, I’ve confirmed that immersing myself in ocean-plus-raindrop sounds is excellent for blending away the cacophony of traffic, a CPAP machine, and an antiquated heating unit. And if you’re ever stuck sharing a room with a range of snores, masking them with the music of a Tibetan choir works great.This article was edited by Katie Okamoto and Maxine Builder.Further reading
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