I'm Getting My Best Sleep in Months Thanks to This Tiny Sound Machine

Several months before we crawled into quarantine, I attended a bachelorette party in New Orleans (If you're rolling your eyes right now, no, we did not wear matching outfits or sound like a moving pack of "woos"). I was staying with three other girls in a hotel room on a busy street filled with nightlife—not necessarily the quietest quarters. However, thanks to a resourceful friend who'd brought a travel-size sound machine, all four of us slept incredibly. I was sure to ask her the brand of the sound machine, adding it to my wish list of inexpensive but random household items I'd get around to buying when I had a few extra dollars to spare (looking at you, garment steamer).

By the time the world shut down, my priorities were elsewhere than the tiny sound machine I hoped to "add to cart." My husband and I bought our first house, which unbeknownst to us was apparently a bird sanctuary before we moved in. When our friends of flight began singing well before the sun rose, I soon remembered: That sound machine was no longer a want; it was a need.

Since the Yogasleep Rohm Portable White Noise Machine arrived on our doorstep, I've slept better than I can remember in recent history. The small but powerful machine has three settings: bright white noise, deep white noise, or gentle surf, and it gets loud enough to drown out even the birds I once claimed, "must have mini megaphones." I prefer the white noise settings since they're constant and monotonous (in the best way).

Much like donning my beloved silk sleep mask, turning on the sound machine signals to my brain and body that it's time to sleep. And sleep I do. If I'm woken up by the dog or a bad dream, I simply refocus on the consistent hum of the white noise until I'm lulled back to sleep. Like a Sandman for the eardrums, the Yogasleep sound machine covers my overactive brain with a comforting blanket of sound.

Because it's so small (about the size of a hockey puck), I never have to sleep without my sweet white noise again. It's compact enough to throw in a carryon or purse, and it's USB rechargeable but can go cordless when fully charged.

For around $30, I have absolutely transformed my sleeping schedule, and you can, too.