A good night’s sleep is essential for aiding concentration and energy levels, reducing stress and improving overall mood. As well as the mental health benefits, a good kip can also improve heart health and help people maintain a healthy weight. But according to The Sleep Council, 40 per cent of people in the UK suffer with sleep issues. And while many of us make the effort to keep fit and eat well as part of a healthy lifestyle, we tend to give significantly less thought to the quality of our sleep.
How Does Noise Affect Sleep?
The quality of your sleep can be affected by intrusive noises you hear while you’re trying to get some shut-eye. Whether it’s a snoring partner or a car whizzing past the house, sounds can interfere with your sleep throughout the night. Noise is more likely to wake you up when you’re drifting off to sleep or when you’re in the lighter parts of your REM cycle.But even if a noise doesn’t wake you up, it can still harm the quality of your sleep because your brain still processes the sound. This can lead to a restless night of tossing and turning, which could leave you feeling groggy and unrested when you wake up.For shift workers who sleep during the day, the risk of being woken up by unwanted noise is even greater.
While there are plenty of ways to block out unwanted sounds, such as sleeping with closed windows or filling your ears with white noise instead, sleeping with earplugs is one of the most effective steps you can take to get the most out of your snooze.
Best Earplugs for Sleeping
When choosing the right earplugs to help you sleep, it’s important to know what you’re looking for:
- Single-use foam/wax earplugs: Some people choose standardized earplugs made from foam or wax to aid their slumber. They’re cheap and can usually be bought in bulk, but they can be tricky to mould into the shape of your ear before you insert them. While they can block out sound fairly well, it’s much more likely that they will fall out during the night, leaving your ears unprotected from unwanted noise.
- Reusable, custom-fit sleep plugs: If you’re looking for a permanent solution to help you sleep soundly, we recommend buying earplugs that have been designed to fit your ears. Custom-made earplugs are much more likely to stay in while you sleep, because they fit the inside of your ear perfectly. The flexibility of a silicone model also means you can drift off to sleep with comfortable earplug that will alter in shape as you move.
While custom-fit sleep plugs will initially cost more, if you want to make a permanent change to your sleep routine and improve the quality of your sleep, it’s worth investing in a reliable, long-term solution. Ultimate’s ultra custom sleeping earplugs can be viewed here.