If you are a light sleeper like myself, you may have been wondering if it’s worth sleeping with earplugs in? Just how bad/good are they?

The answer is – ear plugs can be great at improving your sleep quality!

The sensation of having something in your ears can feel uncomfortable for some people, but often this can be easily overcome. Research shows that a new habit can be formed in 3 weeks. Try wearing ear plugs every night for 21 days and you could get used to them, just like I did.

The great thing about earplugs is that they salvaged my education (I was sharing a room at uni with a rather loud guy), my relationship (my partner snores) and my career (I had a travel role and had to stay in hotels with paper-thin walls).

Some tips when choosing earplugs:

– For louder noises, like staying at hotels, I prefer the foam ones over any other type. For example, 3M orange earplugs are good for blocking loud noises.
– For normal everyday noises (like partner snoring), I choose musician’s earplugs which are much lighter than foam ones and don’t go so deep into the ear canal. They’re simply more comfortable, and you can reuse them.
– Having small ear canals, I buy small earplugs. You need a size that fits you, and this requires experimenting. If they’re too big, it can even be painful and ruin your sleep.
– If only large earplugs are available, I shred tiny bits off (with my fingernails), to make them a bit smaller. It is not a perfect way, but it does the job.
– They tend to fall off during sleep sometimes and get lost in the linen. Have another pair ready at your bedside. Searching for lost earplugs at night is annoying and can really ruin your sleep! So if you wake up, just use the spare pair, go back to sleep, and search for the lost ones when you get up in the morning.

With all that in mind, the feeling of silence and quiet that you experience with earplugs is amazing and you really won’t miss those lost decibels (up to 33-36 db) during your restful quality sleep. Good luck with your experimenting.