Meditation is a skill and an experience that can positively affect your health and happiness. Headspace is the perfect app to help you develop your skills on your way to mindfulness. However, many people are unsure as to whether using headphones for Headspace changes the experience. So, if you want to know if you should use headphones for Headspace, we have the answer!
When using guided meditation apps like Headspace, headphones can make your experience better by allowing you to focus on your breathing. However, the lack of background noises may not give you an experience as enriching as it would be with them.
Sound plays a major role in your experience of a guided meditation session. It would only make sense that the medium through which you’re listening to instructions would play a critical role in your overall experience. The question is whether headphones supplement or improve the experience or if they detract from it. You can make an argument in either direction for various reasons, but you need to prioritize what you want to get out of your journey to mindfulness.

What Is Headspace & How Will Headphones Change My Experience?
Headspace is an app that aims to teach meditation and mindfulness to as many people as possible. It has been designed to take you through various guided meditation sessions. These sessions cater to users at all experience levels. From beginner to advanced classes, they’ve made it incredibly accessible. Not to mention, the basic package is free! The premium version will unlock additional sessions for advanced users.
I’ve been using Headspace for several years now. Without a doubt, I can say that it’s really helped me. I sleep better, feel happier, feel more energetic, and am less anxious. There’s no question that a few minutes of mindfulness every day has some incredible health benefits.
If you’re not on board, you should seriously consider giving meditation a go. It’s free, so there’s nothing to lose!
Interesting read – Are Headphones Safe In The Sauna?
Headphones For Headspace
For anyone that is using the app but is wondering whether they should use headphones for Headspace, the answer requires some unpacking.
Firstly, how will the headphones change your experience of guided meditation?
Primarily, wearing headphones while using Headspace will simply block out outside noises. It will put your digital instructor’s voice directly in your ear, enriching the experience of the app itself. Great if you’re just starting out on your mindfulness journey.
For advanced users, blocking out the outside voices and isolating your experience of the app to the instructor’s voice is not necessarily a good thing. It does not allow you to pay attention to background noises, which is frequently part of the meditation process.
Secondly, and most importantly, blocking outside disturbances from your meditation session allows you to focus on your breathing. Even with headphones on, you can hear your chest and stomach contract as you breathe in and out.
Related article – Do Headphones Help You Focus?

Why You Should Use Headphones For Headspace
Using headphones while going through your guided meditation is a popular choice for many. This is especially true for those who live in noisy spaces where they struggle to find privacy. Like a college dorm room or shared house!
Headphones block out unwanted noises in the background and allow you to focus on the instructor’s voice. This will help you to focus on your breathing better as well.
With Headspace, it’s particularly useful because Andy’s voice in the app is very subtly ramped up as he gets ready to speak. Andy is the original voice behind Headspace! Headphones will help put you more in sync with his utterances. This also eliminates the possibility of being startled after a long period of silence.
And, as anyone versed in the skill of meditation will know, silence is golden. It allows you to achieve a state of mindfulness and relax your mind when you need to find the right headspace.
Not to mention, if you’re just starting, wearing headphones will make it easier to familiarize yourself with the process of meditation.

Why You Shouldn’t Use Headphones For Headspace
Some people argue that meditating with headphones is not meditation in its purest form. That truly harnessing the power of meditation allows you to block out background noises through sheer focus.
In the absence of this, it’s like riding a bike with training wheels. It just doesn’t prepare you for the real thing. Meditation in its purest form allows you to hear an unwanted sound, acknowledge it, and ignore it.
Listening to and concentrating on the sounds around you is a key component in the art of meditation.
But, you may believe that the experience requires background noise, and still use headphones as well. One simple solution is to incorporate background noises into your guided meditation with any music app on your phone. Look for classical music, Gregorian chants, Tibetan singing bowls, sounds of nature, or birdsongs.
This allows you to have specific, observable, and consistent noises that exist beyond the instructor’s voice, but that won’t be overwhelming.
Related article – Can You Meditate With Headphones?
5 Benefits of Meditation & Mindfulness
Whether you decide to meditate using Headspace with headphones or without them, the good news is it’s a step in the right direction either way.
Meditation can be incredibly beneficial. Headspace is a great simple way to get started. Fifteen minutes of practice every day could make a massive difference in your life. So here are five benefits of meditation and mindfulness:
- Improves Well-Being
A higher capacity for mindfulness supports your pursuits towards adopting an attitude that contributes towards a more satisfied, happy life.
It allows you to show appreciation and gratitude for the small. These are often overlooked things in your life that you should be thankful for. An increased focus on small victories allows you to build a foundation for finding happiness. It’s about being mindful of what’s good and diverting your focus away from the negative.
- Improves Health
Scientific research has found that mindfulness techniques like meditation can improve your physical health in numerous ways. It helps relieve stress, lower blood pressure, reduce chronic pain, improve sleep, and treat heart disease.
In terms of mental health, meditation allows you to let go of issues from your past. You can then constructively approach your path to improved self-esteem. Ultimately, reducing crippling concerns over the future.
- Improves Focus
Mindfulness and meditation can affect our ability to focus our attention. In this day and age, there are so many things going on at a million miles an hour. Meditation helps to suppress distracting sounds, feelings, and thoughts.
Cognitive tasks become significantly easier. Your undivided attention unquestionably improves your performance in all aspects of life’s endeavors.
- Stress Reduction
Science has found that meditation reduces stress due to the skills you acquire. It allows you not to focus on the negative aspects of your life and the world around you.
An improved self-image and perception of the environment you live in gives you all of the tools you need to remove unwarranted stress.
- Decreased Anxiety
Much like stress, mindfulness, and meditation decrease anxiety. We face worries every day, whether over big or small problems. This contributes to the giant cocktail of negativity that demands your attention at every moment.
Spending 15 minutes in a state of focused mindfulness can help you get away from the things that make you anxious and, once you get into it, you will eventually be able to block it out entirely.
