Creating the perfect sleep environment for yourself can seem like an impossible task. We can lower or crank up the heating in our homes to get a comfortable temperature, we can get the perfect mattress to be comfy and fall asleep fast and we can find the heaviest blackout curtains to block out the bright outdoors. But we can’t really influence the things happening outside our walls, whether that means loud neighbours, blaring sirens throughout the night, or even the twittering of birds outside your window as soon as the sun starts to come up.

With modern technology, we can do our best to drown out the outside world, leaving us with our thoughts while we fall asleep. Some prefer to fall asleep to music or audiobooks, but not all of us can ignore the sounds of talking. For those among us with a hyper-focusing brain, sound machines can be the answer to getting a quiet and restful night’s sleep.

Let’s discuss some of the coolest, and most effective, sound machines on the market.

Easysleep’s sound machine brims with features aiming to give you and your young ones a good night’s sleep. The device stores 25 varying hi-fidelity sounds that can be set on a timer of up to 4 hours. These sounds include white noise and nature sounds that help block out distracting ones, which then result in an uninterrupted bedtime. The calming effect of Easysleep’s sounds also makes it perfect for creating peaceful environments in your home or office. Furthermore, you can personalise your experience by adjusting the volume between 32 different levels, and the buttons are incredibly easy to use.

Why we love it:

Experiencing a taste of peace won’t cost you much if you have iStar’s sound machine. This affordable device produces six relaxing sounds, including white noise, to set the tone of your and your child’s bedroom. The white noise in particular resembles sounds heard by babies inside the womb, therefore helping the little ones relax and sleep deeply. With its adjustable timer, you can program the sound to last up to 60 minutes after which the power will turn off to save energy. Non-stop playback is also an option.

Why we love it:

Created to be used with the accompanying app, this sound machine not only offers 11 soothing sounds that are created to help put your baby to sleep, but there is also a full colour wheel to choose from when setting the colour of your nightlight. You can either pick from the preset 10 colours, or create your own to make the perfect space for your child. Using Bluetooth to connect to your phone, you can use the app to not only control the sounds and light, but also to set schedules, and, best of all, use the Time-to-Rise feature to help toddlers get out of bed in the mornings. The small design is perfect for bedside tables, and can also be brought with you when you are travelling.

Why we love it:

This sound machine from Dreamegg is compact and lightweight enough that you can easily hang it onto your baby’s crib or take it anywhere you want. The Dreamegg D11 carries with it a total of 12 sounds including nature, fan, and white noise. Along with its soothing playback, Dreamegg’s machine also has a customisable night light fit for any nursery or bedroom. On top of that, the device’s customisation features including a timer, volume levels, and brightness adjustments.

Why we love it:

It isn’t just pure sound that wakes us up, per se. It’s actually the sudden starting or stopping of sound, or a sudden and major increase or decrease in volume. If you’ve ever lived above a bar or had neighbours that enjoyed blasting music throughout the night, you know that heavy bass is enough to keep up even the most tired among us. Our brains automatically zero in on sounds, so in order to get to sleep and relax our minds, we have to drown out those sounds.

Sleep machines are designed to create a constant yet neutral sound that our brain has a hard time focusing on. Typically, it’s quiet and rhythmic, but not too looping, as our brains can focus on sounds that loop too obviously. Nature is fantastic at creating soothing sounds that make us comfortable; rainfall, the crashing of ocean waves, the chirping of insects in the distance; and that’s why you find so many sound machines feature these natural sounds in addition to the regular white noise sound.