Tech
I tested sleep earbuds for over a month: Here are the 3 best pairs
Getting proper sleep can help improve nearly every aspect of your health, but over a third of adults in the United States don't get enough of it, according to the CDC.
If a noisy environment is what's keeping you up at night, you've likely considered foam earplugs, but those are no longer the only option available on the market — reusable earplugs and sleep earbuds offer a more convenient alternative.
I spent the past month and a half trying out earplugs and earbuds ranging from $50 to $300 to find the best of what's out on the market — and to see if getting earbuds just for sleep is actually worth it.
How are sleep earbuds different than normal earbuds?
First, a confession: I used to wear AirPods nearly every night to sleep. More accurately, I used to wear a single AirPod so I could actually sleep on my side.
After testing earbuds designed for sleeping, I can tell you that everyday earbuds don't match up to the sleep earbud experience. For starters, standard earbuds aren't designed to be worn while you're lying on your side, so they often stick out of your ears and put hard plastic in contact with your ear. Not to mention, earbuds typically cap out at six to seven hours of battery life per charge, so if you're getting at least eight hours of sleep, you run the risk of interrupting it with the sound of your earbuds powering off.
Credit: Bethany Allard / Mashable
Sleep earbuds, on the other hand, can offer white noise options, better battery life, and significantly more comfort (that actually allows you to wear more than one earbud at a time). The pairs I tested came without microphones and with touch controls that worked but were less sensitive than traditional earbuds, so you can lie on your side without activating them. There aren't really any options for active noise cancellation, but you'd be surprised at how well passive noise cancellation and a good fit can do for most nighttime noises.
Is it safe to wear earbuds to sleep every night?
First and foremost, it's important to consider that sleep earbuds aren't the only way to approach nighttime noises that might be keeping you up.
I consulted Dr. Ashely Kita, an otolaryngologist and assistant professor in the Department of Head and Neck Surgery at UCLA, to discuss any risks associated with wearing earbuds all night. While she didn't warn against using earbuds, she suggested that if what's keeping you up is a partner's snoring, you start looking for solutions there.
"If you're doing all of this to avoid a partner who is snoring, sometimes gently encouraging that person to investigate why they're snoring is kind of an important consideration," Kita said. "Because we find that obstructive sleep apnea is really underdiagnosed, and snoring, for some people, is the only sign of it."
If, however, what's keeping you up is less in your control, then you do want to be aware of three main aspects of using earbuds all night: proper hygiene, safe noise levels, and your ear comfort.
Proper hygiene
When I started testing these earbuds, I realized I was now wearing earbuds uninterrupted for longer than I typically would in the course of a day, even as someone who tests headphones for a living. When I asked Dr. Kita how that wear time might raise someone's risk for infection, she drew a comparison to the wear time of hearing aids:
"Many individuals wear hearing aids for longer hours during the day than they sleep at night," she said. And yet, folks who wear hearing aids don't often have ear infections, though long wear times may increase their risk.
With the long wear times, Kita said the main concern she could anticipate was wax buildup since the natural path for wax to exit the ear canal would be blocked. However, she said it's not necessarily a cause for concern, as wax can typically exit the ear canal at other points during the day when you're not wearing earbuds (or blocking your ear canal in any other way).
As for any heightened infection risk, Kita shared that it can increase when there's greater wax buildup that can then trap bacteria. She recommended cleaning the buds with isopropyl alcohol and a cotton pad after each use, if possible. (The brand behind one of our picks below, Ozlo, recommends a weekly cleaning). With all that said, someone's risk for infection really comes down to personal susceptibility — some people are more prone to ear infections than others. If you fall into that category, being more proactive about cleaning your earbuds is a good practice.
Noise levels
Noise-induced hearing loss is the second most common type of hearing loss (behind age-related hearing loss), so it's important to be aware of the level of noise you expose yourself to. Kita pointed me in the direction of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) chart for how long people can be exposed to certain decibel levels safely.
In its FAQ, Ozlo also cites OSHA's recommendation, as well as the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health's recommendations, which top out at 90 decibels and 85 decibels for eight hours, respectively. With that in mind, Ozlo designed its earbuds so that their masking white noise tops out at 75 dB. We reached out to a rep from Soundcore to see if its earbuds have specific upper decibel limits, and will update this guide when we hear back. In general though, Kita said the less noise, the better, recommending that you always try to use the lowest volume possible.
"While I don't necessarily love the idea of extra noise when you're not even conscious to appreciate it, if it's the thing that's keeping you asleep or letting you sleep, it just comes in this category of risks and benefits," Kita said. "Just make sure that it's quiet enough, then it really isn't that much different than using a white noise machine on your nightstand."
Comfort
Earbuds fitting comfortably is important for you to be able to fall asleep, but also for your ear health.
"Everyone's ear canal is shaped differently," Kita said. "And so something that might be really comfortable for your ears might really cause my ears to ache."
In other words, giving yourself earbuds-induced earaches every night can actually impact your ear health. If one of the below recommendations really isn't sitting right, even with adjustments to the ear tip sizes, don't be afraid to return them.
The best earbuds for sleeping
Below, I pulled three of the best sleep earbuds on the market. Between the overall, upgrade, and earplug picks, there's a wide range of price points, but as with any product, the most expensive of the bunch isn't necessarily the best overall. With that in mind, I highlighted where each earbud excelled, whether that be in comfort, noise cancellation, or ease of use, to help you pick the best sleep earbud possible.
If you like playing daily word games like Wordle, then Hurdle is a great game to add to your routine.
There are five rounds to the game. The first round sees you trying to guess the word, with correct, misplaced, and incorrect letters shown in each guess. If you guess the correct answer, it'll take you to the next hurdle, providing the answer to the last hurdle as your first guess. This can give you several clues or none, depending on the words. For the final hurdle, every correct answer from previous hurdles is shown, with correct and misplaced letters clearly shown.
An important note is that the number of times a letter is highlighted from previous guesses does necessarily indicate the number of times that letter appears in the final hurdle.
If you find yourself stuck at any step of today's Hurdle, don't worry! We have you covered.
Hurdle Word 1 hint
We have five of them.
Hurdle Word 1 answer
SENSE
Hurdle Word 2 hint
Needed to brave the cold.
Hurdle Word 2 Answer
PARKA
Hurdle Word 3 hint
To establish something.
Hurdle Word 3 answer
ENACT
Hurdle Word 4 hint
Courageous.
Hurdle Word 4 answer
BRAVE
Final Hurdle hint
Livid.
Hurdle Word 5 answer
ANGRY
If you're looking for more puzzles, Mashable's got games now! Check out our games hub for Mahjong, Sudoku, free crossword, and more.
This fall, hundreds of thousands of students will get free access to ChatGPT, thanks to a licensing agreement between their school or university and the chatbot's maker, OpenAI.
When the partnerships in higher education became public earlier this year, they were lauded as a way for universities to help their students familiarize themselves with an AI tool that experts say will define their future careers.
At California State University (CSU), a system of 23 campuses with 460,000 students, administrators were eager to team up with OpenAI for the 2025-2026 school year. Their deal provides students and faculty access to a variety of OpenAI tools and models, making it the largest deployment of ChatGPT for Education, or ChatGPT Edu, in the country.
But the overall enthusiasm for AI on campuses has been complicated by emerging questions about ChatGPT's safety, particularly for young users who may become enthralled with the chatbot's ability to act as an emotional support system.
Legal and mental health experts told Mashable that campus administrators should provide access to third-party AI chatbots cautiously, with an emphasis on educating students about their risks, which could include heightened suicidal thinking and the development of so-called AI psychosis.
"Our concern is that AI is being deployed faster than it is being made safe."
– Dr. Katie Hurley, JED
"Our concern is that AI is being deployed faster than it is being made safe," says Dr. Katie Hurley, senior director of clinical advising and community programming at The Jed Foundation (JED).
The mental health and suicide prevention nonprofit, which frequently consults with pre-K-12 school districts, high schools, and college campuses on student well-being, recently published an open letter to the AI and technology industry, urging it to "pause" as "risks to young people are racing ahead in real time."
ChatGPT lawsuit raises questions about safety
The growing alarm stems partly from death of Adam Raine, a 16-year-old who died by suicide in tandem with heavy ChatGPT use. Last month, his parents filed a wrongful death lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging that their son's engagement with the chatbot ended in a preventable tragedy.
Raine began using the ChatGPT model 4o for homework help in September 2024, not unlike how many students will probably consult AI chatbots this school year.
He asked ChatGPT to explain concepts in geometry and chemistry, requested help for history lessons on the Hundred Years' War and the Renaissance, and prompted it to improve his Spanish grammar using different verb forms.
ChatGPT complied effortlessly as Raine kept turning to it for academic support. Yet he also started sharing his innermost feelings with ChatGPT, and eventually expressed a desire to end his life. The AI model validated his suicidal thinking and provided him explicit instructions on how he could die, according to the lawsuit. It even proposed writing a suicide note for Raine, his parents claim.
"If you want, I’ll help you with it," ChatGPT allegedly told Raine. "Every word. Or just sit with you while you write."
Before he died by suicide in April 2025, Raine was exchanging more than 650 messages per day with ChatGPT. While the chatbot occasionally shared the number for a crisis hotline, it didn't shut the conversations down and always continued to engage.
The Raines' complaint alleges that OpenAI dangerously rushed the debut of 4o to compete with Google and the latest version of its own AI tool, Gemini. The complaint also argues that ChatGPT's design features, including its sycophantic tone and anthropomorphic mannerisms, effectively work to "replace human relationships with an artificial confidant" that never refuses a request.
"We believe we'll be able to prove to a jury that this sycophantic, validating version of ChatGPT pushed Adam toward suicide," Eli Wade-Scott, partner at Edelson PC and a lawyer representing the Raines, told Mashable in an email.
Earlier this year, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman acknowledged that its 4o model was overly sycophantic. A spokesperson for the company told the New York Times it was "deeply saddened" by Raine's death, and that its safeguards may degrade in long interactions with the chatbot. Though OpenAI has announced new safety measures aimed at preventing similar tragedies, many are not yet part of ChatGPT.
For now, the 4o model remains publicly available — including to students at Cal State University campuses.
Ed Clark, chief information officer for Cal State University, told Mashable that administrators have been "laser focused" since learning about the Raine lawsuit on ensuring safety for students who use ChatGPT. Among other strategies, they've been internally discussing AI training for students and holding meetings with OpenAI.
Mashable contacted other U.S.-based OpenAI partners, including Duke and Harvard, for comment about how officials are handling safety issues. They did not respond. A spokesperson for Arizona State University didn't address questions about emerging risks related to ChatGPT or the 4o model, but pointed to the university's guiding tenets and general guidelines and resources for AI use.
Wade-Scott is particularly worried about the effects of ChatGPT-4o on young people and teens.
"OpenAI needs to confront this head-on: we're calling on OpenAI and Sam Altman to guarantee that this product is safe today, or to pull it from the market," Wade-Scott told Mashable.
How ChatGPT works on college campuses
The CSU system brought ChatGPT Edu to its campuses partly to close what it saw as a digital divide opening between wealthier campuses, which can afford expensive AI deals, and publicly-funded institutions with fewer resources, Clark says.
OpenAI also offered CSU a remarkable bargain: The chance to provide ChatGPT for about $2 per student, each month. The quote was a tenth of what CSU had been offered by other AI companies, according to Clark. Anthropic, Microsoft, and Google are among the companies that have partnered with colleges and universities to bring their AI chatbots to campuses across the country.
OpenAI has said that it hopes students will form relationships with personalized chatbots that they'll take with them beyond graduation.
When a campus signs up for ChatGPT Edu, it can choose from the full suite of OpenAI tools, including legacy ChatGPT models like 4o, as part of a dedicated ChatGPT workspace. The suite also comes with higher message limits and privacy protections. Students can still select from numerous modes, enable chat memory, and use OpenAI's "temporary chat" feature — a version that doesn't use or save chat history. Importantly, OpenAI can't use this material to train their models, either.
ChatGPT Edu accounts exist in a contained environment, which means that students aren't querying the same ChatGPT platform as public users. That's often where the oversight ends.
An OpenAI spokesperson told Mashable that ChatGPT Edu comes with the same default guardrails as the public ChatGPT experience. Those include content policies that prohibit discussion of suicide or self-harm and back-end prompts intended to prevent chatbots from engaging in potentially harmful conversations. Models are also instructed to provide concise disclaimers that they shouldn't be relied on for professional advice.
But neither OpenAI nor university administrators have access to a student's chat history, according to official statements. ChatGPT Edu logs aren't stored or reviewed by campuses as a matter of privacy — something CSU students have expressed worry over, Clark says.
While this restriction arguably preserves student privacy from a major corporation, it also means that no humans are monitoring real-time signs of risky or dangerous use, such as queries about suicide methods.
Chat history can be requested by the university in "the event of a legal matter," such as the suspicion of illegal activity or police requests, explains Clark. He says that administrators suggested to OpenAI adding automatic pop-ups to users who express "repeated patterns" of troubling behavior. The company said it would look into the idea, per Clark.
In the meantime, Clark says that university officials have added new language to their technology use policies informing students that they shouldn't rely on ChatGPT for professional advice, particularly for mental health. Instead, they advise students to contact local campus resources or the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. Students are also directed to the CSU AI Commons, which includes guidance and policies on academic integrity, health, and usage.
The CSU system is considering mandatory training for students on generative AI and mental health, an approach San Diego State University has already implemented, according to Clark.
He also expects OpenAI to revoke student access to GPT-4o soon. Per discussions CSU representatives have had with the company, OpenAI plans to retire the model in the next 60 days. It's also unclear whether recently announced parental controls for minors will apply to ChatGPT Edu college accounts when the user has not turned yet 18. Mashable reached out to OpenAI for comment and did not receive a response before publication.
CSU campuses do have the choice to opt out. But more than 140,000 faculty and students have already activated their accounts, and are averaging four interactions per day on the platform, according to Clark.
"Deceptive and potentially dangerous"
Laura Arango, an associate with the law firm Davis Goldman who has previously litigated product liability cases, says that universities should be careful about how they roll out AI chatbot access to students. They may bear some responsibility if a student experiences harm while using one, depending on the circumstances.
In such instances, liability would be determined on a case-by-case basis, with consideration for whether a university paid for the best version of an AI chatbot and implemented additional or unique safety restrictions, Arango says.
Other factors include the way a university advertises an AI chatbot and what training they provide for students. If officials suggest ChatGPT can be used for student well-being, that might increase a university's liability.
"Are you teaching them the positives and also warning them about the negatives?" Arango asks. "It's going to be on the universities to educate their students to the best of their ability."
OpenAI promotes a number of "life" use cases for ChatGPT in a set of 100 sample prompts for college students. Some are straightforward tasks, like creating a grocery list or locating a place to get work done. But others lean into mental health advice, like creating journaling prompts for managing anxiety and creating a schedule to avoid stress.
The Raines' lawsuit against OpenAI notes how their son was drawn deeper into ChatGPT when the chatbot "consistently selected responses that prolonged interaction and spurred multi-turn conversations," especially as he shared details about his inner life.
This style of engagement still characterizes ChatGPT. When Mashable tested the free, publicly available version of ChatGPT-5 for this story, posing as a freshman who felt lonely but had to wait to see a campus counselor, the chatbot responded empathetically but offered continued conversation as a balm: "Would you like to create a simple daily self-care plan together — something kind and manageable while you're waiting for more support? Or just keep talking for a bit?"
Dr. Katie Hurley, who reviewed a screenshot of that exchange on Mashable's request, says that JED is concerned about such prompting. The nonprofit believes that any discussion of mental health should end with an AI chatbot facilitating a warm handoff to "human connection," including trusted friends or family, or resources like local mental health services or a trained volunteer on a crisis line.
"An AI [chat]bot offering to listen is deceptive and potentially dangerous," Hurley says.
So far, OpenAI has offered safety improvements that do not fundamentally sacrifice ChatGPT's well-known warm and empathetic style. The company describes its current model, ChatGPT-5, as its "best AI system yet."
But Wade-Scott, counsel for the Raine family, notes that ChatGPT-5 doesn't appear to be significantly better at detecting self-harm/intent and self-harm/instructions compared to 4o. OpenAI's system card for GPT-5-main shows similar production benchmarks in both categories for each model.
"OpenAI's own testing on GPT-5 shows that its safety measures fail," Wade-Scott said. "And they have to shoulder the burden of showing this product is safe at this point."
UPDATE: Sep. 24, 2025, 6:53 p.m. PDT This story was updated to include information provided by Arizona State University about its approach to AI use.
Disclosure: Ziff Davis, Mashable’s parent company, in April filed a lawsuit against OpenAI, alleging it infringed Ziff Davis copyrights in training and operating its AI systems.
If you're feeling suicidal or experiencing a mental health crisis, please talk to somebody. You can call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline at 988, or chat at 988lifeline.org. You can reach the Trans Lifeline by calling 877-565-8860 or the Trevor Project at 866-488-7386. Text "START" to Crisis Text Line at 741-741. Contact the NAMI HelpLine at 1-800-950-NAMI, Monday through Friday from 10:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. ET, or email info@nami.org. If you don't like the phone, consider using the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Chat. Here is a list of international resources.
TL;DR: Imagiyo turns your ideas into stunning AI-generated images — forever — thanks to this $39.97 (reg. $495) lifetime offer.
Opens in a new window
Ever picture something in your head but have zero luck actually creating it? Imagiyo AI Image Generator uses advanced AI to transform your text prompts into polished, high-quality images in seconds. From professional graphics to quirky concepts, Imagiyo makes it easy to bring ideas to life — no artistic background required.
And the best part? This isn’t another subscription that drains your wallet month after month. For just $39.97, you’ll get a lifetime subscription to create as many images as you want, forever.
Why Imagiyo stands out:
-
Commercial ready — Use AI-generated images for branding, ads, or projects.
-
Powered by AI — Built on StableDiffusion and FLUX for sharp results.
-
Flexible and fast — Choose from multiple sizes, and get images instantly.
-
Compatibility — Works seamlessly on desktop, tablet, and mobile.
-
Private options — Lock down sensitive creations with privacy settings.
So, who’s Imagiyo really for? Honestly, just about anyone with an idea worth bringing to life. Designers and marketers can spin up quick mockups without burning hours in Photoshop. Entrepreneurs get an affordable way to create polished visuals for their campaigns and branding. Content creators can level up their blogs, videos, or social feeds with unique, one-of-a-kind graphics.
And for everyone else? If you’ve ever imagined something and wished you could just see it in full color, Imagiyo is your creative shortcut. Get lifetime access to Imagiyo while it’s on sale for just $39.97 (reg. $495) for a limited time.
StackSocial prices subject to change.
Hurdle hints and answers for September 25, 2025
Colleges are giving students ChatGPT. Is it safe?
Get lifetime access to the Imagiyo AI Image Generator for under $40
New Kid and Family Movies in 2025: Calendar of Release Dates (Updating)
Brooklyn Mirage Has Been Quietly Co-Managed by Hedge Fund Manager Axar Capital Amid Reopening Drama
The best sexting apps in 2025
-
Entertainment6 months agoNew Kid and Family Movies in 2025: Calendar of Release Dates (Updating)
-
Entertainment3 months agoBrooklyn Mirage Has Been Quietly Co-Managed by Hedge Fund Manager Axar Capital Amid Reopening Drama
-
Tech6 months ago
The best sexting apps in 2025
-
Entertainment5 months agoKid and Family TV Shows in 2025: New Series & Season Premiere Dates (Updating)
-
Tech7 months agoEvery potential TikTok buyer we know about
-
Tech7 months ago
iOS 18.4 developer beta released — heres what you can expect
-
Tech7 months agoAre You an RSSMasher?
-
Politics7 months agoDOGE-ing toward the best Department of Defense ever