Lack of sleep is a cyclist’s worst nightmare. It can play havoc with training and racing. Besides exhaustion, experts say not enough shuteye contributes to weight gain and more than a few diseases.

The purported cures are legion – drugs, whirring fans, eliminating caffeine, exercise at certain hours and on and on. But whether it’s pre-race anxiety or just the curse of the light sleeper, finding the right solution to a good night’s sleep can be elusive.

Having run through the plethora of fixes, Feed Your Bike’s lead product tester landed on what seems to be working quite well. The idea was to create a cocoon of white noise, a way of completely masking outside noises that were responsible for sleepless nights. 

First attempts were clunky – noise canceling headphones and bluetooth earbuds hooked to the ears and playing white noise meant sleep positions were limited to lying on the back. An Internet search found a product that would end our tester’s long nights of tossing and turning.

Soundcore makes a pair of small earbuds aimed specifically at light sleepers and those who have trouble drifting off. They fit snugly into the ears, small enough to allow users to sleep on their sides without the discomfort that bigger buds cause.

The buds charge in their case and feature a music mode and a sleep mode that automatically disconnects when it senses sleep. The app allows users to play pre-loaded sounds or download others. Our tester connected to the white noise app on an Amazon Fire tablet, another option for using a favorite app.

The results were, frankly, quite impressive. Our tester cloaks himself in white noise that eliminates any other noise throughout the night (those with snoring partners will love this benefit). He routinely clocks seven hours of sleep, and anyone who suffers from sleeplessness knows that a seven-hour night is a blessing.

One slight con with regard to the Soundcore buds: the battery life is around six hours. While that’s enough to carry you through the night, a seven- or eight-hour charge would be appreciated. And, once they’re in your ears, you may not be able to hear the person next to you before you drift off, a feature that can be considered a benefit or a flaw, depending on the nature of your relationship.

In any case, sweet dreams. Finally.

Soundcore Sleep A10 Bluetooth Sleep Earbuds. Available at: https://amzn.to/45oUQnx