Should you wear a sleep mask?

Should you wear a sleep mask?

If there’s one thing you should know about getting great sleep, it’s the importance of darkness.

Trying to get your essential beauty rest in a room filled with light is like trying to perfectly fold a fitted sheet while wearing two foam fingers. Frustrating, ridiculous, and almost certainly ineffective. There’s a better way!

Even if you can’t eliminate all the light in your bedroom (or office or wherever else you sleep, no judgment), you can still prevent that light from reaching your eyes and disrupting your sleep. How?

By wearing a sleep mask.  

Put the foam finger down and pick up a sleep mask, instead

Sleep masks may look simple, but they have the power to transform your sleep. Here are some of the (many) benefits of wearing a sleep mask:

Benefits of Wearing a Sleep Mask

Block out ambient light

Ambient light in the room where you’re trying to sleep is more than just annoying. It can prevent you from getting the sleep you need.

In particular, artificial blue light like the light from smartphones and TVs has been shown to bring down your sleep quality and increase the chances of waking up during the night. 

Given these detrimental effects of light on sleep, it’s worth taking measures to make your sleeping environment as dark as possible. Blackout curtains and/or living out in the country accomplish that goal, but if you’re a city dweller or don’t want to shell out the money for blackout curtains, sleep masks can get the job done, too. 

Sure, your bedroom will still be bright, but the sleep mask will fool your brain into thinking it’s pitch black and ideal for great sleep. Three cheers for tricking your brain! If only there was a sleep mask that convinced your brain to forget about your ex...inventors, get to work!

Get more REM sleep

By keeping light from reaching your eyes, sleep masks can help you fall asleep and get better, deeper sleep. The extreme darkness effect produced by sleep masks allows your body to enter stage 4 of the sleep cycle, also known as REM sleep. 

Think of REM sleep like getting a power-up in Mario Kart. It’s what your body needs to strengthen your immune system, repair your tissues, and energize you for the next day. A sleep mask can eliminate light and other distractions so you can reach REM sleep faster. 

The face of a happy, energized sleep mask user (and our CEO)

Kickstart melatonin production

Your circadian rhythm, the body’s internal 24-hour sleep-wake cycle, is easily impacted by light. That means exposure to excess light when you’re trying to sleep can keep you awake more effectively than a cup of coffee brewed with an energy drink.

Not that we’ve ever tried that, of course. *cough, cough*

It works like this: light exposure tells your brain not to produce more melatonin, a chemical responsible for helping you sleep. No extra melatonin, no sweet dreams. 

Using a sleep mask to block out light can prompt your brain to start producing more melatonin, meaning you’ll fall asleep quicker and be more likely to get deep, continuous sleep. 

Sleep soundly wherever you go

Even if you manage to fall asleep the second your head hits the pillow at home, traveling can throw a real wrench in your ability to get good sleep. With the bright lights and excess noise on planes, trains, and automobiles (an underrated Steve Martin movie, tbh), plus time zone changes, you need all the sleep help you can get while you travel. 

A sleep mask can help you zone out your environment and focus on what counts: getting some good Zzzs. Stop fearing jet lag. Jet lag should fear you! Ok, that doesn’t really make sense, but you get the spirit. 

If you’re ready to get better sleep with a sleep mask, don’t go anywhere. In addition to our fan-favorite eucalyptus lyocell sheets and new mattress, Sheets & Giggles also recently started offering a beautiful sleep mask in signature S&G purple. 

Pick up your new favorite sleep mask today! 

Just spitballing here, but this could be you (and a furry friend) with your new matching S&G sleep masks.