Fully functional but, unlike other earbuds, Kokoon Nightbuds Earbuds are smart and designed for sleep time
Trying to get a good night’s sleep is something many people continually strive for. Pressure, anxiety of the times, late nights, hot weather and Netflix binging likely don’t help their cause. For Tim Antos, this was no different. His work-related insomnia was so severe he required the services of a sleep clinic. Realizing that this was not accessible or convenient for everyone, he embarked on a quest and along with a fellow engineer came up with a sleep solution the Nightbuds Earbuds by London U.K. based Kokoon.
Smart earbuds designed for sleep
Nightbuds are fully functional earbuds, but unlike others they’re smart and designed for sleep time. When used in conjunction with a mobile device and the MyKokoon companion app, they help you fall asleep, protect your sleep from disturbances and help manage your sleep wellness.
They look unique and connect via Bluetooth 5.0 but the earbuds themselves are not totally wireless. Each bud connects to a purposefully and cleverly shaped malleable cable to a control module that sits behind your neck like wearing a mini fanny pack. You loop each one over your ear and snuggly insert the soft silicone buds. Amazingly, they can be worn all night without falling out and are comfortable even when sleeping on your side.
By moving some of the electronics to the module behind the neck they’ve been able to design the buds to be a mere 6mm thick, about 1/3 the size of a typical pair. After a few nights, you’ll hardly notice them on.
Built-in sensors
Nightbuds have built-in sensors like those found in devices such as an Apple Watch or Fitbit that gather info and monitor your sleep. They can even tell when you doze off for the night. The PPG sensor can measure blood flow signals and the accelerometer can detect your movement at night. Within the earbuds themselves is a built-in heart rate monitor which gives extremely accurate information as it’s sensing very close to your carotid artery.
Being able to monitor when you’re not awake can help you better understand your sleep and help you sleep better. The app produces a daily summary and sleep analysis which includes data on how efficiently you slept, how long to fall asleep, length of sleep, type of sleep i.e., light, REM, deep, and awake time. Sleep coach technology also offers tips on how you can improve your sleep quality.
Works with any audio
Helping you fall asleep typically starts with music, audio to TV program. The app is compatible with most of your favourite music services like Apple Music, Spotify, Audible, YouTube and even specialty apps like Calm & Headspace. Kokoon also has its own library of selections, albeit limited. It has curated playlists for example when you’re trying to fall asleep, get back to sleep after being disturbed or perhaps are feeling anxious. The library includes sleep sounds like coloured noise, meditations, and even binaural soundscapes for an immersive experience ranging from a few minutes to two hours. They can also be looped for continuous play.
What makes Nightbuds really shine is the ability to configure the buds to fade out and pause the audio once it senses you’ve fallen asleep. Even better, it can crossfade the audio out to protective coloured noise that can continue to play throughout the night to mask outside disturbances. The passives noise-blocking audio seal also helps outside noise from coming in.
Noise reduction
News to many, coloured noise can be referred to as being white, pink or even brown. Generated white noise (the most common) often called static contains sound from every frequency we can hear. Pink noise for some can be more relaxing with the volume of the higher frequencies are reduced. Brown noise reduces them even further yielding a deeper and an almost roaring wind sound which may work better for some and may just drown out their partner’s snoring.
Well Thought Out
Kokoon Nightbuds are a well thought out and are much better than I anticipated in improving my sleep quality. And anything that can help me sleep better is a good thing. The auto shut-off and coloured noise generation with its own volume control are invaluable – although I’m still trying to fine tune my personal settings.
Other handy features include a built-in mic, so you can make and receive calls and with the latest update Nightbuds will power off automatically when the earbuds are removed.
The built in 100mAH battery rated at 10+ hours. Depending on use, (I use about 55-60% per night), you may need to charge Kokoon every day. Two full days of power would be ideal. I suspect the smaller battery was to keep the unit small and light.
The control module had three simple button controls (volume, pairing, power etc.) that protrude out slightly at the top are small enough too not add extra bulb but large enough and spaced apart just enough to able to control while it’s around the back of your neck. They stayed on nicely and didn’t seem to interfere with mask and hose from my CPAP machine I wear every night as long as it put them in first.
The data provided is not as in-depth as what you might find on a Fitbit, but enough to help you with your sleep management especially knowing how long it took to fall asleep. In all fairness, this is a new product and the features are constantly being updated.
The Kokoon Nightbuds come with a carry case, four pairs of various sized tips and a stubby USB-C charging cable. It retails in Canada for $349.99, although I’ve seen on occasion promos ranging from 20-40% off. Kokoon offers free shipping, a 30-day trial and a two-year warranty.
Radio Interview about Kokoon Nightbuds Earbuds
The syndicated edition of the article appears at Troy Media and 32 affiliated syndicated sites and previously in Active-Life Magazine.
Greg Gazin, also known as the Gadget Guy and Gadget Greg, is a syndicated veteran tech columnist, communication, leadership and technology speaker, facilitator, blogger, podcaster and author. Reach him @gadgetgreg or at GadgetGuy.ca.
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