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Aug 03, 2023

6 Unexpected Sleep Aids You May Already Own

If you’re having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, there’s no shortage

If you’re having trouble falling asleep or staying asleep, there's no shortage of specialized devices that might help: For instance, we love white noise machines and sunrise alarm clocks. But you may already own items that can send those uncounted sheep off to pasture.

Here are a few Wirecutter picks—things we recommend for entirely different purposes—that members of our staff have found can work wonders as sleep aids. Try taking them for a spin—or a snooze.

When we first adopted our two cats, they would wake up my partner and me as early as 3 a.m. looking for breakfast—which we normally give them at 9:30 a.m. We tried playing with them before bed to tire them out (they still refused to sleep through the night) and closing the door to our bedroom (they learned to knock). Finally, four years ago, we decided to space out their intake of food. We bought an automatic feeder and set it to go off at about 2:30 a.m., when it released about half of their usual breakfast kibble. (The rest we gave to them at their usual breakfast time.) This tactic solved our problem within a week and remains an essential part of our cats’ daily routine and our quality of sleep—they get a little midnight snack to hold them over, we get our shut-eye, and nobody harbors any resentment in the morning.

—Kaitlin Mahar

My husband is weird about sleep. For instance, if he doesn't go to bed "on time," he lies awake, thinking about how tired he’ll be the next day. When it comes to getting him a gift, he's tough to shop for, but he loves his sleep. So for his last birthday, I bought him a Coway Airmega AP-1512HH air purifier. Between dust, pet dander, dust mites (which I am allergic to), and other generic funk floating around in our bedroom, I figured we could probably use all of the help we could get. Now, we feel like the air is cleaner, and it just smells fresher in there. I have never officially measured the particles in the air, but I do trust Wirecutter's guide to air purifiers, and I think having that feeling makes us sleep better. And an unexpected benefit—for me—is the white noise it generates. Our LectroFan EVO white noise machine is on his side of the bed, and neither of us wants to raise the volume on it. But the very soft sound from the Coway air purifier (which is on my side of the room) does help me sleep.

—Rachel Cericola

Though I’ve reaped the benefits of white noise while moving from noisy apartment to noisy apartment for the better part of seven years, I don't actually use any of our white noise machine picks. If you’re like me and don't need specific sounds to fall asleep, our smaller fan pick, the Vornado 460 Small Air Circulator, can be a good multifunctional alternative. Like our favorite white noise machine, the LectroFan EVO, it's small enough to fit on a nightstand and effectively drowns out the din of city living. But it also performs double duty by keeping the bedroom cool at night, letting me avoid running the AC during cooler Southern California months. Granted, the Vornado 460 generally costs $5 more than the LectroFan EVO, but to me, its ease of use, longer warranty, and versatility make it well worth that extra $5.

—Kaitlin Mahar

The Kasa Smart Wi-Fi Plug Slim (EP25) is one of my favorite bedtime aids. Even when I’m comfy in bed, already half asleep, I can use my smartphone to remotely turn off the floor lamp and activate my white noise machine, which makes it that much easier for me to continue drifting off. For late-night bathroom runs, I have a night-light (plugged into a third smart plug that I’ve timed to turn on at sunset and off at sunrise), which guarantees that I don't blind myself with overhead lights and, in the process, trick my brain into thinking it's time to start the day.

—Kaitlyn Wells

Hammocks are a nostalgic thing for me: When I was growing up, the hammock was where my older cousins, aunts, and uncles would sleep off one too many, as well as where the younger kids would be left to sway if a party was underway and they needed a quiet place to sleep. Missing the hammocks of my childhood, during the pandemic I got a hammock stand that was on sale and pulled out a hammock that someone had given to me years ago. (It wasn't a Wirecutter pick, but any hammock we recommend would work just as well.) I set it up in a corner of my living room, by a window. Not only did it become my reading chair and lounge spot, but it was also sometimes the coolest place to spend the night (especially when my air conditioner broke in the middle of the summer). The hammock of my memories continues to provide me with a calming escape that can lull me right to sleep.

—Ana Paola Wong

I always keep water on my bedside table to drink throughout the night—it helps me stay hydrated during cold and flu season, and it cools me down on hot summer nights. I’ve been devoted to the same plastic tumblers with lids and handles for years—we call them big swigs in my house because I have two from college that say, in faded lettering, "Bulldawg Big Swigs." They hold about 24 ounces of water, which I thought was ginormous until Wirecutter colleagues introduced me to the 40-ounce Stanley Adventure Quencher. Even though our review of the Stanley tumbler concluded that it has its problems—it costs $40, it weighs a ton when full, and it's constantly sold out—I still joined the waitlist and eventually bought two. They’ve now completely replaced my beloved big swigs. Yes, they’re heavy, and, yes, I’ve nearly dropped them on my face more than once in the night, but they’re also helping me drink more water than ever. Throughout the winter, as the indoor heating dries me out, they’ve saved me multiple midnight refills when I’m extra thirsty. They’re the biggest swigs, and I love them.

—Jackie Reeve

It's Sleep Week at Wirecutter! Read more about the best Sleep Week deals on our expert-recommended mattresses, bedding, and more for your bedroom.

This article was edited by Christine Ryan and Daniela Gorny.

Kaitlin Mahar

Kaitlin Mahar is a staff writer for Wirecutter's Deals team. Her byline has appeared in Delish, Esquire, and Town & Country. When she's not hunting for deals and fiercely defending the Oxford comma, she's a proud cat parent, an avid yogi, and a co-producer and co-host of the podcast Crime Culture. Please tell your pets and grandparents she says hi.

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