291Mhoursof sleep audio played in BetterSleep
That’s about 33,000 years of listening, in a single year.
#1 soundRainFor the second year in a row.
2026 in sleepThe BetterSleep Sleep Report
The year’s biggest sleep trends, and what’s coming in 2027.
Try BetterSleep for FREEScroll to start the nightWho’s behind the report
A year of listening and sleep tracking in the BetterSleep app, read alongside what two of our experts saw in 2026.
Dr. Shelby Harris, PsyD, DBSM
Clinical psychologist and sleep specialist
Board certified in Behavioral Sleep Medicine, in private practice in New York and Clinical Associate Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. Author of The Women’s Guide to Overcoming Insomnia.
Meet Dr. Harris
Dr. Aric Prather, PhD
Sleep scientist and clinical psychologist
Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, where he directs the Behavioral Sleep Medicine Research program and helps lead the UCSF Insomnia Clinic. Author of The Sleep Prescription.
Meet Dr. Prather
What 2026 sounded like
When people pressed play, what they reached for and what they went looking for.
Bedtime is at 10. The night peaks at 3.
Plays peak at 10 p.m. in the US and the UK, but more audio is playing at 3 a.m. than at any other hour.
About 1 in 5 plays start between 1 and 5 a.m., as people use sound to get back to sleep. Early waking was one of the top complaints in Dr. Prather’s clinic this year, too.
Most plays start10 p.m.Most audio playing3 a.m.
Bar heights illustrate the shape of a night. Only the marked hours and the 1–5 a.m. window are report data.
Colored noise went mainstream
Green noise jumped from #12 to #5 and brown noise climbed 8 spots. White noise and fan sounds slipped.
Listeners 55+ lead it, playing green noise 3 times as often as 18–24-year-olds.
55+3×
18–241×
Sound rankings, 2026
- 5Green noiseUp from #127 spots
- –Brown noise8 spots
- –White noiseSlipped
- –Fan soundsSlipped
Gen Z wants escapism. 55+ wants to drift off.
3×Gen Z picks immersive story worlds at about 3 times the 55+ rate
+60%55+ lean on sleep music and hypnosis, and listen about 60% more hours
+18%Music grew faster than any other category
18%Music
Fastest-growing category
DownBedtime stories
Lost share
Searches got specific.
People searched for help with particular problems, not generic tips.
- ADHD
- Anxiety
- Tinnitus
- Pain
- Women’s health
What our experts saw in 2026
The themes that kept coming up with their patients this year.
Tracker anxiety
“Sleep is a biological process, not a performance metric.”
She sees people who sleep reasonably well but feel exhausted because their score says they didn’t. Dr. Prather sees it too.
The median sleep score across 1.7M nights tracked in BetterSleep. One more reason to stop chasing the perfect score.
Doomscrolling before bed
“I have never had to set so many ‘no news after dinner’ curfews before.”
Perimenopause and menopause
More women are speaking up about sleep.
Our experts are hearing from more women about sleep problems that go well beyond hot flashes.
Viral hacks, rated
Three sleep hacks went viral this year. Make your guess, then flip each card for the verdict.
Mouth taping
Taping your lips shut overnight to force breathing through the nose.
Hype or help?
Sleepy girl mocktail
A bedtime drink built around tart cherry juice.
Hype or help?
Sleepmaxxing
Optimizing every part of the night in pursuit of perfect sleep.
Hype or help?
Sleep in 2027
Where sleep is heading next year, and the habits worth leaving behind.
Three predictions for 2027
Less effort, better sleep
Dr. Harris’s bold prediction: “Less effort can sometimes be part of better sleep.” Her example is CBT-I, the proven insomnia treatment most people have never heard of.
AI sleep coaching widens access
Dr. Prather sees AI coaching bringing sleep help to more people. Dr. Harris agrees, as long as it adds to clinical care rather than replacing it.
Sleep joins preventive health
Both see sleep becoming part of preventive health and longevity, alongside nutrition, exercise and mental health.
Leave these in 2026
The urge to track and perfect everythingDr. HarrisUnproven supplementsDr. PratherMouth tapingDr. Prather
Here’s to better sleep in 2027.
Sleep sounds, music, stories, meditations and sleep tracking, all in one app.
Get BetterSleepAbout the data. Listening and search figures come from BetterSleep app data. Sleep scores come from 1.7M nights tracked in BetterSleep.