Kokoon Nightbuds Sleep Aid Bluetooth Headphones review: Are they worth the price?

Are the Kokoon Nightbuds Sleep Aid Bluetooth Headphones worth the price? Read our editor's honest review below.

There's no arguing that a good night's sleep is a necessity.

Experts recommend adults get between 7-9 hours of sleep a night. Sleep deprivation has been linked to a numerous health issues, including impaired brain function, weight gain and obesity, high blood pressure and heart disease — as well as poor mental health.

That's a bitter pill to swallow if you, like me, struggle to fall asleep — and stay asleep. One of my biggest sleep issues is my partner's almost-immediate, almost-constant snoring. All. Night. Long.

I've tried tons of earplugs, noise machines and other fixes, but nothing seemed to work. It's become such an issue that lately, more often than not, he goes trudging off to our second bedroom so I can finally get some shuteye.

So when I came across the Kokoon Nightbuds Sleep Aid Bluetooth Headphones, I knew I had to try them.

Kokoon Nightbuds Sleep Aid Bluetooth Headphones

$350 at Best Buy Canada

Kokoon Nightbuds: Details and how they work

These sleek, in-ear headphones are soft and comfortable, which means you can wear them throughout the night without interruption. Using Bluetooth 5.0, users can connect to the Kokoon app, which opens up a massive library of relaxing audio (featuring coloured noise like pink noise and brown noise, nature sounds and more), as well as sleep techniques and meditations — all aimed at helping you relax.

The earbuds' sleep-sensing technology fades out audio and introduces coloured noise as you fall asleep, and dynamic noise masking blocks out unwanted sounds like background noises, traffic, your partner's snoring (bingo!) and more. While lots of earbuds I've tried are completely wireless, these feature a sensor that sits at the back of your head that measures your heart rate and sleeping habits, which helps you keep tabs on your stress levels, sleep efficiency and more.

$350 at Best Buy Canada

The Nightbuds are also extremely thin — measuring four times thinner than the average Bluetooth earbud, to be exact. That combined with different sizes of extra-soft silicone ear tips and a comfortable cable ensure wearers aren't disturbed by the feeling of the earbuds during the night — and also ensure that they don't end up at the bottom of the bed. And with a 10-hour battery life, they won't run out of juice in the middle of the night either.

While the earbuds are, of course, primarily designed to wear while you're sleeping, you can also use them for voice calls, listening to music, watching TV and more.

My Kokoon Nightbuds review

While I was intrigued by the Kokoon Nightbuds, if I'm being honest, my expectations were low, despite the higher price. I've tried a lot of earplugs and earbuds and seem to still consistently hear background noise (like snoring). Plus, I find that most earbuds pop out of my ears during the night, rendering them completely useless. On top of that, most earplugs tend to hurt my ears — so I figured this would just be an overpriced option I'd add to the "didn't work for me" list.

I'm happy to report that I was proven wrong pretty quickly. As soon as I took the Kokoon earbuds out of their box, I was impressed by the sleek look of them (they also come in their own streamlined carrying case for safe keeping). While that's of course not the feature I was most concerned with, them being aesthetically pleasing was definitely a plus.

I downloaded the MyKokoon app and was easily able to pair my earbuds, which unlocked hundreds of audio options, meditation, relaxing techniques and more.

$350 at Best Buy Canada

I was initially intrigued by the earbuds because of their ability to basically pipe coloured noise into my ears without snores seeping in — and while they did that effortlessly, I found myself utilizing the meditations and relaxation techniques more frequently. The sleep data is also really interesting, especially if you use it in tandem with a smartwatch like a Fitbit or Apple Watch.

Fit was another feature that left me impressed. As I mentioned, I have a lot of issues with earbuds either falling out completely or hurting my ears — sometimes both. The multiple silicone tip size options were really a game changer, although they did take a bit of getting used to. The first night I tried these out, I used a pair that was too big and ended up hurting my ears in the night. However, the next night I switched to the smaller size, and found the fit much more comfortable.

While these earbuds don't have the true "nothing there" earbud feel, I'm actually glad. The sensor at the back delivers a ton of sleep tracking data, so it's great to have, and the cable that connects the sensor to the earbuds is wavy to eliminate tangles. I had nightmares of the cable getting caught or pulling on my hair, but that wasn't a problem either.

I've also used these earbuds to listen to music — they're especially great for the winter, since the sensor, cable and slim earbuds fit well under a toque. While I probably wouldn't ditch my Bose QuietComfort over-the-ear headphones for meetings or calls, the Kokoon are a nice backup option (and take up a lot less room if you're, say, travelling).

What other shoppers are saying

The Kokoon Nightbuds have a 4.3-star rating from more than 200 reviews, with reviewers praising their comfortable fit and noise-cancelling abilities.

"Super comfortable headphones that fit snuggly, but never too tightly," said one shopper. "Highly recommended for flights and train rides when you need a snooze."

"I was at my wits end about being woken by the slightest outside noise. Since using Kokoon, I have slept really well with them every night, no exception," added another. "My deep sleep is improving by the day."

However, some shoppers do caution that despite the multiple earbud sizes, they still might not work for your ears.

"I have been trying the headphones off and on for about 2 months now to drown out my snoring husband. Unfortunately, even on the smallest setting they are loose on my head and move around or fall off while sleeping," said a reviewer. "I would not consider myself an abnormally small individual. I did try to wrap my eye mask around the outside of the headphones to secure them to my head but then I wake up a couple hours later with very sore ears. Too bad, other than the size issue I think they would have worked well. "

$350 at Best Buy Canada

Are the Kokoon Nightbuds worth the price?

The Kokoon Nightbuds Sleep Aid Bluetooth Headphones retail for $350 CAD. While that's a far cry from being cheap, they're similarly priced to the Bose Sleepbuds ($329 CAD), which are another sleep aid earbud on the market. It's also worth keeping in mind that headphones and earbuds from higher end brands like Apple, Bose and Sennheiser, can often cost you upwards of $150 — even without noise-cancelling abilities or sleep features.

Personally, the Kokoon Nightbuds are the most expensive earbud I've tried in my endless search for perfect slumber — but I completely think they're worth the price. Firstly, I've tried numerous Instagram-suggested earbuds, and none have fit as well as these — and they have definitely not stayed in overnight. Plus, the multiple earbud sizes actually make them a bit of a Goldilocks product, especially if you're someone who struggles to find earbuds that fit well and don't hurt your ears.

While I originally wanted these simply for noise cancellation, I've actually found the meditations and sleep techniques to be one of my favourite things. The special features these headphones offer, in addition to their sleep and health tracking and comfy, sleek appearance is what makes the Kokoon Nightbuds worth the price.

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