Confession time: any time I’ve seen the Sleep Phones on display, I’ve felt a little baffled by the concept. Admittedly, it doesn’t help that they’re billed as “pyjamas for your ears”. It’s just asking for it really. They’re Bluetooth headphones in a band – call it a sweat band, call it a head band, it basically amounts to the same thing – that can connect to your music source of choice and allow you to play your music or other audio files while you sleep.
I mean, really, what’s the point? For me, they were right up there with the pillows with built-in speakers: a novelty item that you didn’t really need but piqued your curiosity.
It turns out though they have a specific target market in mind. It’s mainly people who want to block out the surrounding noise while they sleep, but it can go wider than insomniacs and those who work night shifts. People who think they can learn a foreign language by playing it in their sleep. The unfortunate few who need something to block out the snoring or they’ll be done for murder. The couple who have completely different sleep patterns but don’t want to admit it. There’s a surprisingly large target market there.
I suffer from none of the above. Insomnia, for me, is a thing of the past these days, as are night shifts. But the memory of the former is still there, along with the feeling of overwhelming desperation as you realised that every minute that ticked by was another less of precious sleep and another minute to the alarm going off.
On occasion, I resorted to headphones and (supposedly) soothing music to try to lull myself to sleep, with varying results. Mainly because at some point, you’d turn over and one of two things would happen: the earbud would fall out and stab you in the side of the face, or the wire would wrap itself around your neck and in that half-awake, half-asleep state, you’d momentarily freak out thinking someone was trying to strangle you.
So I decided to give them a shot, in the interests of science? Journalism? Whatever. It meant I went to sleep wearing pyjamas for my ears. My husband took one look at me and called me an eejit.
The good
The Sleep Phones come in different band sizes, so you can get something to fit comfortably. They’re designed to sit over your ears, like a hairband, or over your eyes like a sleep mask, so it depends on how you feel about wearing the band while you sleep. Some won’t mind it, some will hate it. I found it comfortable enough. The speakers and the power pack is removable so you can wash the band – it’ll need it after a few days – and just pop the pack back inside.
Pairing the device is simple: push the power button, search for the headphones in your bluetooth settings and you are ready to go. There are audio cues to let you know what you’re connected to, so you don’t accidentally connect to the wrong phone.
The not so good
Sounds can still filter through, although they are admittedly muted. I tried them on a plane, and they definitely muffled the background noise.
While the headphones stayed put on the plane, I woke up after a night’s sleep to find the band had settled a little lower than intended. At that point, it no longer mattered though.
The rest
These aren’t going to rival your expensive on-ear headphones in terms of sound quality. They’ll certainly do the job for the middle of the night, or if you’re travelling.
The battery charges off micro USB, and the battery lasts several hours without needing a charge.
The verdict
HHH The Sleep Phones will work, although you’ll feel slightly daft initially. What will you care anyway? You’ll be asleep. Team it with a recording of the Government’s spring statement, and they might actually be on to a winner.
