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Wearing an eye mask during sleep improves episodic learning and alertness
- m3kw9 3y agoGet better drapes that black out and instead
- NikolaNovak 3y agoIf it's just the amount of light as per abstract,I assume darkened room would be equivalent I.e. There's no magic additional benefit of mask itself (pressure / touch / etc)?
- plumeria 3y agoIsn’t the pressure applied on your eyes a risk though? That’s one of the reasons keeping me away from using sleep masks.
- aherz 3y agoI use a brand called Manta Sleep that has adjustable eye holes in the mask so the pressure goes around your eyes rather than on them.
- nickthegreek 3y agoSame but I also use their overused cups as well. Really helps move the pressure further from the eye.
- taeric 3y agooverused? I'm assuming you meant over sized? I didn't know those existed. Definitely worth picking up?
- nickthegreek 3y agoYes, oversized. I find them to be a worthwhile upgrade for sure.
- plumeria 3y agoThese look interesting, I see they are also designed for side sleepers.
- jlpom 3y agoNo, the pressure is very light for me, and not sleeping will always carry more risks.
- Nomentatus 3y agoRight. But a dark room is a room in which, if you put your hand in front of your face, you don't see even the faintest outline of a hand.
- raffraffraff 3y agoI bet that with your eyes closed, the difference between "black out blind dark" and "no light" isn't much. I bought black out blind about 5 years ago and they're amazing. If I'm in my parents house or staying in a hotel during summer, I get crappy sleep and I'm wide awake at 5am.
- taeric 3y agoI thought the same, then I got an eye mask. It is still noticeable. Now, I make no claims that it is necessary to be that dark. I have no idea.
- Nomentatus 3y agoI might mention that, believe it or don't - a living skull is translucent, and our brains can detect light all by themselves. So a mask is good, but not nec a whole solution. In old experiments, just the light coming in under a door diminished melatonin in mice.
- nerdponx 3y agoThe skull itself? That seems implausible. Something on the skin other than the eyes seems more likely.
- floxy 3y ago>Research studies indicate that about 1 in 20 people do not shut their eyes while sleeping. https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-health/sleeping-with-eyes-open https://www.sleepfoundation.org/physical-health/sleeping-wit...
- C-x_C-f 3y agoI've been to some houses where the shutters had no gaps and they fit the window frame so well that virtually no light made it in, even during the day. It was surreal waking up in the morning, thinking it was still night time, then checking the clock only to see it was 8AM. A great feature to add to a house if you ask me.
- knallfrosch 3y agoI don't understand how 'eye mask' made it into the title, if it's all just about light. Here in Germany, you get window shutters ("Rolladen") on every window and that's that https://youtu.be/_KePLmie7lE https://youtu.be/_KePLmie7lE
- navels 3y agoI've never forgotten living with these when I was an exchange student in Germany years ago!
- dzhiurgis 3y agoMask is much cheaper and even the best shutters/blinds/curtains don't black you out perfectly.
- MandieD 3y agoThe whimsical swinging shutters you see in the US: yes. The mechanically or electrically-closed rolling shutters called "Rolladen" in German, and installed on all but the cheapest new construction in Europe: when properly installed, those things can black out a room with the sun shining directly through the window.
- symlinkk 3y agoShutters are expensive in the US, like thousands a window. They’re basically a luxury item. Curtains and blinds are middle class.
- Scoundreller 3y agoand often in France, ones that you can close from the outside. Moreso for blocking out the sun in summer time and security rather than night pollution. I don't get the fake shutters in North America. Especially the ones that wouldn't even cover the window if they could move.
- mambru 3y agoFunny, in Germany most "old" houses don't have shutters, from my small sample of living in 4 or 5 German houses. Many people from the south of Europe complain about that when traveling to Germany. https://www.lasexta.com/viajestic/curioso/que-paises-extranjeros-usan-persianas_201902155c667da20cf2396d7063413c.html https://www.lasexta.com/viajestic/curioso/que-paises-extranj...
- telchior 3y agoBut wearing an eye mask is nigh impossible for restless sleepers; it slips off constantly. My best solution after trying many masks is an old t-shirt draped across my eyes, which inevitably slips off but at least doesn't drag elastic bands over my face. Anyone know of research showing the effectiveness of varying levels of darkness in a room, from complete blackout to fairly dim?
- LinuxBender 3y agoThe masks that are cloth all the way around and have velco work for restless sleepers and side sleepers, or at least that has been my experience. I was on a medication ages ago that made me restless. Look online for the masks that are 100% cotton cloth and have a thin padding inside. Avoid the masks with the eye-shaped face and avoid the masks with the stretch band as they do exactly as you describe.
- Eupraxias 3y agoAs a restless sleeper, I use a headband-like bluetooth headset for ambient sound to help me sleep. I can imagine a slightly larger one that extends over the eyes - if I can find one, I will buy it.
- aksss 3y agohttps://mantasleep.com/products/manta-sleep-mask-sound https://mantasleep.com/products/manta-sleep-mask-sound No experience with it but sounds like the kind of thing you're after.
- TylerE 3y agoGot one and it’s pretty much the bees knees. A nice evolution over their earlier generation, which I also own. It even seals about 99% of light over a full task CPAP Darth Vader setup
- q7xvh97o2pDhNrh 3y agoI hope you don't mind me saying: Between that mask and a CPAP machine, your sleep setup sounds delightfully cyberpunk.
- aaron695 3y agoI guess compared to blackout curtains/blocking leds/draft stopper/synced partner when you wake up you could have natural sunlight in the room. ( "Participants were asked to sleep with open shutters/curtains for the entire duration of the study.") But they didn't test for that here. The studies conclusion seems to be blackout curtains either cost $$$ or take a bit of effort to install, mask is cheap/easier. Sleep is good, people sleep better when as much light is blocked as possible. It's a conclusion that is known.
- vixen99 3y agoAnd by contrast, perhaps just as important to get plenty of natural light during the day to regulate melatonin production - an anti-cancer and immune system enhancing agent whereas artificial light at night can be a real problem. https://cmbl.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s11658-022-00375-z https://cmbl.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s11658-022-0... and many other reports.
- nickthegreek 3y agoBeen using eye masks for almost a decade now. Current fav is the Manta Sleep with the big cups but always looking for something better. Any recommendations?
- aksss 3y agoI'd be curious if anyone has experience with the Manta Sound mask, specifically if they're really able to sleep on their side without uncomfortable pressure from the speaker between pillow and ear. Hard to imagine it working for anyone but back sleepers.
- TylerE 3y agoIt’s pretty slick. I’m mostly a back sleeper but do roll onto my side maybe about 2 night in 3. Totally fine.
- kimbernator 3y agoHaven't tried that one, but after going through a few this one is far and away the best I've had: https://www.mattressfirm.com/sleep-mask/5637147694.p https://www.mattressfirm.com/sleep-mask/5637147694.p
- peter422 3y agoI'm a big big fan of the lunya eye mask: https://lunya.co/products/womens-washable-silk-sleep-mask-meditative-grey https://lunya.co/products/womens-washable-silk-sleep-mask-me... I used a little bit of sewing to tighten up the fit exactly to my head and it never falls off and is incredibly comfortable. No sound though.
- flappyeagle 3y agoI wonder how much of the effect is: you can't stay up with your phone with an eye mask on
- NoPicklez 3y agoI don't see how wearing a mask really changes that aspect. I could still stay up on my phone before deciding to sleep and then put the mask on?
- Graziano_M 3y agoIt's easier to roll over and glance at your phone.
- NoPicklez 3y agoThe purpose of eye masks is not to prevent you from looking at your phone, afterall they're not superglued to your head. They're to help you get into your sleep state and stay unimpacted by artificial light once you've decided to sleep. If you are struggling to sleep because you stay up on your phone, you have bigger problems that aren't the job for a sleep mask.
- Graziano_M 3y agoI never said it was the purpose. It's obviously not the purpose of them, I'm saying that I find that it adds just a touch more required activation energy to check my phone, so I am a bit less likely to.
- ortusdux 3y agoI remember a 'body-hack' fad around inducing lucid dreaming via sleep masks. IIRC, it used EMG sensors to detect eye muscle movement and then it would flash an LED mounted inside the mask in an attempt to slightly wake you up during REM. Can anyone speak to the method's efficacy?
- 31337Logic 3y agoI have this and can say it's roughly 50% efficient. Message me if you want to learn more.
- scrollbar 3y agoInteresting aside speaking of lucid dreaming- at least one of the authors of this paper is a lucid dream researcher - Karen Konkoly at Northwestern. Another people she coauthored studies conversing with lucid dreamers while they're mid-dreaming. Interesting stuff.
- fellerts 3y agoI built this a few years ago: https://fellerts.no/projects/eog.php https://fellerts.no/projects/eog.php. It only gave me intense nightmares. It was a cool project though, and I'm sure it could work for some people.
- MrDresden 3y agoLiving in Iceland, where in the summer time we get midnight sun effectively for a few weeks, I've slept with darkening blinds and an eye mask for some years now. I've gotten so habituated to it that I almost can't fall alseep without one.
- tap-snap-or-nap 3y agoI worry about this aspect of my sleep. I have gotten used to sleeping in the quiet and darkness and I worry that over the years I might get used to this and not get proper sleep without it. I used to sleep pretty well in a noisy and with distracting lights when I was living near a busy street.
- pcthrowaway 3y agoIn mice!
- qwerty456127 3y agoThey should rather have tested this on fruit flies :-)
- pedalpete 3y agoI'm surprised nobody has mentioned the problem with this study is it is not blind. Clearly the sleeper knows if they are wearing an eye mask with holes that let in light, or if they are wearing a complete eye mask. I work in the neurotech/sleeptech space, and it should be possible to do this study in a double blind method. In a sleep lab, with EEG, monitor the users sleep state. When they are in any non-wake state ambient light could be brought into the room. In one instance, no light is applied, in another light is applied. Don't use the usual camera's that are used in a sleep lab. In such a method the trial is double blind, but also much more expensive than the method used.
- TheSpiceIsLife 3y agoProblems I see with this method: Life isn't a double blind randomised placebo controlled study. There is no group consisting entirely of me I can control for. Also, an absence of ambient light isn't the same as wearing a sleep mask. The home user can't enter a sleep lab and wear electrodes as a convenience.
- pazimzadeh 3y agoGood point, on top of the placebo effect it could be that the slight pressure is comforting
- taeric 3y agoI'm not sure I follow? They were not wearing a mask in all treatments, such that it isn't like they were relying on tricking people by having a mask that didn't actually block light. I agree that it could be something other than the mask. For instance, it could be that it is the simple matter of having them try something that led to an increase. But I'm not as clear on how this is an obvious "flaw" with the study. Or are you saying you would want the double blind to fully rule out light, and we would be back to asking "why did the masks do something?"
- ethanbond 3y agoGP is saying the participant knows they are/are not wearing the mask when they go to sleep and this could skew the results, e.g. by expecting to get a better night’s sleep via the sleep mask, they experience less sleep anxiety, sleep better, learn better. This tells you something different than “ambient light while sleeping negatively impacts learning.”
- longor 3y agoYou are a rigorous researcher.
- mmahemoff 3y agoEye masks are also a valuable travel hack. Hotels tend to have LED light coming from different places - smoke alarms, clocks, key card slots etc - and it's always a gamble how much sunlight gets through the windows. It's much easier to put on an eye mask than worry about how to black out the room. Similar story with any form of transport, where the various light sources are largely outside your control. The newer "3D" eye masks provide full blackout and stays on without much trouble. Well worth keeping in a travel kit alongside earplugs.
- zmmmmm 3y agoIt's not just the specifics of the environment but the fact that if you acclimatise to using the mask at home, when you travel you are maintaining perfect consistency with your home environment while sleeping, which I find to be beneficial. With a bluetooth mask you can add some white noise so even extraneous sounds aren't bothering you.
- aqme28 3y agoHotels yes, but also very very useful on planes.
- nomilk 3y agoI wonder if a mask makes it slightly less convenient to check one's phone, thus gives better sleep for that reason alone.
- chromakode 3y agoHaving used masks for over a decade: not really. It's second nature to push up the mask.
- Balvarez 3y agoCouldn't they just not tell the percipient what they were testing. Then you wouldn't know that someone else had a mask or didn't. That would remove the placebo effect.
- nanidin 3y agoHmm. I used an ostrich pillow to take lots of naps during college. It must be partly responsible for my good grades!
- dumpHero2 3y agoCongrats on good grades! A good night sleep is underrated.
- zmmmmm 3y agoA bit underwhelmed by their plot: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36521010/#&gid=article-figures&pid=figure-2-uid-2 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36521010/#&gid=article-figur... (1) the truncated axes hide what a small effect size it seems to be and (2) even though they state the p-value is significant, eyeballing it there seems to be a really wide variance that is almost overlpaping b/w the two situations. It seems to me like a marginally significant result with a very small effect size.
- shmoejoe 3y agoI’ve been sleeping with a beanie over my eyes for years. It’s fucking glorious
- tomduncalf 3y agoMy personal hack is using a Buff [1] instead of an eye mask. It’s a soft fabric tube designed for wearing as a kind of face mask for outdoors activities. They’re really soft and comfortable as an eye mask and don’t get too hot or slip off. There’s no elastic stream involved and it’s really slimline so you barely feel it. Also they’re cheap! I use a dark coloured one and fold it over 2 or 3 times to make it darker. Couldn’t sleep without it, nor could a few people who I’ve introduced to it! [1] buff.com
- Pamar 3y agoLet me understand... you use their "neckwear" and pull it down on your eyes instead of around your neck/mouth? If yes... they seem o sell it in full and half size. Do you use the half size? a full one folded in two? (I am curious to see what it does for me but I do not use this kind of products normally so I would like to avoid buying the "wrong" type). TIA
- qwerty456127 3y agoVery goog question. I am interested as well and feel the same sort of confusion. Their sortiment is quite diverse.
- tomduncalf 3y agoYeah that's correct, I owned one for skiing and happened to try reusing it in frustration after being awoken by the light coming in through the curtains. I had no idea they had such a large range! I just use a basic original, full size one, made out of thin material. Full size means you can fold it over two or three times to make it block out more light, I'm not sure a half size would work so well but I've never tried one. I think it would be the "Original EcoStretch" model, though I can't say for 100% certain as I bought mine in an outdoor wear shop and just bought the cheapest, thinnest, darkest one.
- Pamar 3y agoI think I just needed to be sure you used the full size one. I'll look for a dark one and make sure it is a model for warm climates (I suppose a winter/ski version could be a bit too much to wear in bed, especially folded). Thanks!
- uvu 3y agoPersonally, it hurt my eye the next day.
- qwerty456127 3y agoI can't even fall asleep while feeling the thing on my face :-(
- elmolino89 3y agoThe subject did sleep at their homes, which means the noise level was not controlled, and it seams not even measured (no noise word in the article). The effect may be real, but I would like to see it corroborated in a more controlled environment.
- FreeCodeFreak 3y agoThis is of course an entirely useless study, because participants know when they are wearing a mask. Logic dictates that very likely wearing the mask has no effect at all, and it is in fact other factors influencing quality of sleep. It would make sense to look into those, and it is very surprising it was not already done from the beginning. E.g. Obviously a participant can not use their mobile phone or other screen devices if they are wearing a mask, and the mere fact they are wearing the mask may force them to do the one thing they can do: sleep. In other words, it could simply be that the mask itself incapacitated and prevented other activities from being carried out by the participant. Equal or better results can be achieved if participants are told to concentrate on sleeping. Heck, you might even pay them just to sleep so they do not stress about the fact they have to waste time sleeping – this alone should yield some interesting results. My advice: forget the silly mask.
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- nodefortytwo 3y ago> Logic dictates that very likely wearing the mask has no effect at all What logic dictates that?
- toxik 3y ago> E.g. Obviously a participant can not use their mobile phone or other screen devices if they are wearing a mask, and the mere fact they are wearing the mask may force them to do the one thing they can do: sleep. This sounds like you describing the mechanism rather than rejecting the idea that a sleep mask helps. IOW, it may help because it "enforces" better sleep hygiene.
- desmond373 3y agoOr use the silly mask as a tool. Just because the benefits are of a second order effect and not a Direct doesn't mean they don't have a benefit. Light blocking, phone being harder to use and crafting some sort of sleeping ritual can all be achieved by using it.
- sammalloy 3y agoI’ve been wearing an eye mask during sleep for the past year and I’m afraid I’ve become slightly addicted to it. Sleeping without it is terrible. I think this is one of those things that when you make the switch, it’s difficult to ever go back.
- wsatb 3y agoWhile the study may be bunk, anecdotally, finding a sleeping mask that worked for me (stayed on, wasn’t uncomfortable, kept all light out) has been a game changer in sleep quality. Better sleep has always brought more benefits to my day, so I am a believer in the mask.