FAQs

1. How can they possibly work without batteries?

Somni creates sound the same way all speakers do, but we've redesigned the way a speaker works so that the part that vibrates and creates the sound (called the speaker cone) can be separated from the part that needs to be wired. So rather than putting the whole speaker, Bluetooth radio, amplifier and battery in your ear like you do with regular earbuds, which makes them big and subject to battery issues, you only put in the part that creates the sound and the rest is able to be separate. It's technology redesigned to solve the two biggest pain points for sleep earbuds - Comfort and Battery life.

For a longer explanation, please copy and paste the following address into your browser:
https://tinyurl.com/SomniFAQs

2. Do they have ANC (Active Noise Cancellation)?

We haven’t included an ANC chip. While ANC works well for steady, predictable noises like airplane engines, it’s ineffective against the irregular sounds that usually keep us awake, such as snoring, traffic, or noisy neighbours. ANC relies on predicting sound waves based on a consistent, repeating pattern; it can’t generate an opposing wave quickly enough for sudden, unpredictable noises.

In practice, this makes ANC more of a marketing feature than a real solution for sleep. Reviewers of other sleep earbuds with ANC often express disappointment, so we focused instead on proven methods: effective noise blocking and masking.

Drawing on our experience designing motorcycle earplugs — where riders must protect against hearing damage that can occur in under two minutes at noise levels above 110 dB — we’ve incorporated three design features for maximum attenuation:

i) Slim ear-tip post (3 mm) – Allows the ear-tip to compress and conform comfortably, creating a perfect seal regardless of ear shape or movement during sleep.

ii) Articulated ball-socket post – Adjusts to the angle of any ear canal and moves with you, maintaining a centred, secure seal.

iii) Audiophile-grade memory foam tips – Made from slow-recovery foam; you compress them before insertion, and they slowly expand to fill and gently grip the ear canal.

These features deliver up to 37 dB of noise attenuation, so only low-volume audio is needed to mask disturbances.

3. Is sleeping with the SomniMat near me safe?

Yes, completely! The simplest explanation is that Somni uses exactly the same magnetic waves that power all speakers, we just separate the speaker into two parts. When you put on Bluetooth headphones, you’re placing a speaker cone, coil, magnet, Bluetooth radio, amplifier and battery right against your head. With Somni, all the components are the same, but only the speaker cone is in the SomniBud. All other elements are separate in the SomniMat and SomniMate.

A deeper guide for fellow physics nerds!

The magnetic waves from all speaker coils are totally safe for humans because they are extremely low frequency, which makes them harmless in both strength and nature; far below the thresholds known to cause any biological effects.

EMFs at this frequency are non-ionizing, because they are far too low to remove electrons from atoms. That means that they don’t have enough energy per photon to break chemical bonds (unlike UV, X-rays, gamma rays).

ICNIRP public exposure limit for 20 kHz magnetic fields: 27 milliteslas (mT).

A SomniMat is Tens to hundreds of microteslas (µT) right at the mat surface.

That’s thousands of times weaker than the limit, and the strength decreases rapidly with distance (inverse cube law for a small loop).

In summary, EMF from a speaker coil (like in the SomniMat) is weaker and lower in frequency than Wi-Fi, cell phones, or even an electric hob in your home and well below any limits set by health guidelines for non-ionizing fields.

4. Can I travel with my Somni?

Yes, absolutely. The Somni system comprises of three elements:
 

i) The SomniBuds - your tiny earbuds

ii) The SomniMat - a thin flexible mat, about the size of a table placemat (30cm x 40cm).

iii) The SomniMate - the small box that plugs into the wall socket and connects to the SomniMat, around the size of a laptop charger.

All three parts would be very easy to pop into your suitcase when travelling.

5. Can I use them when not in bed?

No I’m afraid not. SomniBuds are designed specifically for bed use, so they won’t work away from the SomniMat. We built them to solve the two big issues with sleep earbuds: comfort and battery life. Most sleep earbuds use tiny batteries that degrade quickly with daily full-to-empty charging, which leads to disconnects - it’s why Bose discontinued theirs, and you’ll see similar complaints across Reddit for other brands. SomniBuds avoid all that: they’re a quarter the size, never disconnect, and never run out. The trade-off is they only work in bed - but for that, they’re unbeatable.

6. Are they stereo?

SomniBuds are mono only - so you won't get stereo audio separation. This is deliberate because after lots of user testing and research, we discovered that most people find stereo separation distracting for sleep, especially when listening to podcasts or audio books. So, we combine the left and right channels into a single audio signal that's the same for both ears. 

7. How close to the SomniBuds need to be to the SomniMat. If I get up, will they disconnect?

The connection between the SomniBuds and SomniMat is not digital, it’s analogue, so they never suddenly disconnect. As you move further away, the volume will slowly reduce – as you move closer, it will get louder. To get maximum volume, the SomniMat is best placed between the bedsheet and the mattress directly under your pillow, or if you have a solid headboard, it can be attached to the back with Velcro. That will give you great audio across one half of a double bed. 

8. How can I use the second set of SomniBuds that come with the VIP offer?

It’s always smart to have a spare, right? Whether your pet decides it’s a chew toy or it vanishes into that mysterious gap under the bed, having an extra pair of Somnibuds™ can save the day. Better yet, Somnibuds™ automatically spring to life when near the SomniMat™, so if you're cuddling up with your partner on the same pillow, you can both listen together — no need for a second full Somni® system.

9. Can Somni track my sleep and change music when it detects I have drifted off?

This isn’t possible through Somni, because the design that allows them to be so tiny and never need charging also means that there are no electronics in the SomniBuds. However, there are an increasing number of apps that can detect sleep via your phone without any wearables, like “SleepRoutine”, that use AI-based breathing analysis through your smartphone microphone to detect when you fall asleep, offering sleep scores and smart alarms. We’re also investigating some partnerships for post Kickstarter with sleep tracking wearables (smart rings etc) which will be compatible with all Somni versions including the first release.