There are two types of reviews I do here at No Sleepless Nights:
- In-depth individual product reviews.
- Comparisons of multiple sleep products in a category.
If you’re not sure which brand or version of a type of sleep product might be best for you personally, the comparisons below should be helpful. I always try to include a range to suit different needs, whether that be budget, style, features, or aesthetic design.
Some of the articles include videos too, so you can see them in action. And if you’re more interested in seeing the individual reviews, most of which do have videos, have a look through the individual reviews section of the website.
Mattress toppers
Mattress toppers are a great way to change how the surface of your bed feels without the expense of changing the entire mattress. You can make it softer, firmer, more or less springy, and change how warm or cool it feels to lie on.
And if you’re unsure which style will work best for you, take a look at my guide to choosing a mattress topper. It’s full of useful information to help you understand the different materials and narrow down your choice.
Weighted blankets
Weighted blankets are designed to create some gentle pressure on your body while you relax or sleep. The idea is that they feel comforting, often compared to being like a hug.
Personally, I quite like my hugs to involve an actual human body, but they still feel lovely to sleep under and I’ve used one for many years, especially in the winter.
And if you’re a hot sleeper, perhaps check out the experiment I did in which I compared different blankets with normal bedding with the aim of finding the most breathable weighted blankets.
Cooling mattress pads and bed fans
If you live in a hot part of the world, or are just a perennially hot sleeper, it can be difficult to sleep at night if you don’t feel comfortably cool.
There are some effective bed cooling systems that you could try, as well as mattress pads that are more breathable than dense memory foam toppers and mattresses.
If you’re on a tight budget, you might also find my tips for keeping cool in bed useful. Many of those ideas are free to try, and can be put into action straight away.
Heated mattress pads
If the idea of cooling your bed in the previous section sends shivers down your spine, maybe some extra warmth in bed is what you need.
Personally, I prefer heated mattress pads to electric blankets as they stay on the bed better and it can feel cozier to have the heat generated underneath your body.
Those with dual zones and separate controls are also a good way to have different temperatures on each side of the bed if you and a partner have different preferences.
Headphones for sleep
Yep, that’s me in the photo, doing my best to look angelic while sleeping!
If you enjoy listening to music, radio, podcasts or video while you relax and fall asleep, it’s good to have comfortable headphones that allow you to lie in different positions.
If you sleep on your back, or just listen for a while before taking them off, you can use any headphones potentially. If you sleep on your side, you might find a fabric headband style more suitable.
Sleep trackers
The photo here shows one of the first things I do in the morning – check out my sleep stats, which I’m arguably more obsessed with than I need to be.
I just find it fascinating to see how my sleep times ebb and flow throughout the year. I also like to know how my lifestyle choices affect my sleep.
A good example is giving up caffeine in November 2021. Within days, my sleep tracker showed an improvement in the sleep score, helping motivate me to resist the temptation to return to the morning liquid buzz.
If you prefer to keep an eye on your sleep without using tech, perhaps keep a manual sleep diary in a notebook for a couple of weeks. Even that can throw up some interesting discoveries. Try noting how you sleep after eating certain food, doing exercise, or how other aspects of your daily life impact on your sleep.
White noise machines
In the photo above, I’m in the middle of one of several big comparisons I’ve done of white noise machines. Of all the hundreds of sleep products I’ve reviewed in the last decade, there have probably been more white noise machines than any other category.
Why? Because I know many people find white noise, fan sounds, or nature sound relaxing and good at masking external noise. The quality and sound choice they offer can vary enormously though, so I’ve tried to cover lots of different ones.
Here are some comparisons you might find useful if you’re thinking of getting one:
- My recommended white noise machines – I discuss a range of machines and explain the sound options and features they have.
- White noise machine, speaker or app? – I compare different machines with a Bluetooth speaker for volume and sound masking potential.
- How to choose a white noise machine – I discuss whether you really need a white noise machine, and if you do, how to go about choosing the right one.
Sleep masks
From simple silk sleep masks to the more modern designs like the one in the photo above, there’s an interesting range of sleep masks to choose from.
They are great if you’re a shift worker and need to sleep during the day, and don’t have blackout blinds. If you’re traveling, they can also help you get some shut-eye when the world around you is a bit too bright.
Wake-up lights
Wake-up lights might suit you if you hate waking up to the sound of a loud alarm or regularly wake up when it’s still depressingly dark outside. In my experience, it feels much nicer to wake up slowly, with the warm glow of light gently filling the bedroom.
Many have a sunset simulator too, which is a great way to drowsily slip into the land of nod. I love how the light in my bedroom fades from a bright white to a subtle deep red with my own wake-up light.
Earplugs
Noise is my nemesis; earplugs are my superpower. Ok, I exaggerate a little, but there’s nothing quite like blocking out annoying noise at night than stuffing some foam in your ears.
For all the expensive high-tech noise-canceling headphones, white noise machines, and whatever else that’s supposed to help with noise, nothing beats a well-fitting set of earplugs with a high noise reduction rating in my experience.
If you struggle with noise at night, also check out my ideas for dealing with noise in bed. There are lots of useful tips for managing noise problems at night.
Air mattresses
Whether you have more guests than bedrooms, or more of a love of the great outdoors than the cinema, an air mattress is a convenient way to create a temporary bed.
They get better and better over time, now that manufacturers have worked out that people would actually like a degree of comfort when they lie on them. Tolerance for giant lumpy tube designs has waned since the 1980s.
Pillow speakers
Pillow speakers are a convenient alternative to headphones if you’d like to listen to music in bed without disturbing a partner.
You can pop them under your pillow or on top of your pillow next to your ear, which is more comfortable than lying on your side with headphones on.
The speakers tend to be flat and relatively quiet, so they are best suited to those who just want some quiet audio rather than incredible sound quality.
Travel pillows
Not long after I took the photo above, I took a couple of friends on a long car trip (buried under a mountain of travel pillows) to get their opinions in addition to mine.
That’s my approach to the big comparison reviews I do: I test multiple products myself, and then ask family and friends to see what other people think. After all, I’m just one person.
If you’re flying, I recommend doing some research and getting a good travel pillow beforehand rather than picking up whatever you can find in the airport. Sometimes the shops sell decent ones, but it’s not guaranteed to suit your body shape.
See more of my reviews
If it’s white noise machines you’re most interested in, I cover lots of individual ones in depth, which you can find in the white noise machine section of this website.
And to find out about different over the counter sleep aids I’ve tried out, have a look at the sleep aids section.