It’s also worth getting a nice eye mask (one that’s comfortable on your face) for when you’re on the road. Hotels, Airbnbs, etc. are full of super bright LEDs now, and many of them (e.g. smoke detectors) can’t be easily covered or turned off.
It’s also worth getting a nice eye mask (one that’s comfortable on your face) for when you’re on the road. Hotels, Airbnbs, etc. are full of super bright LEDs now, and many of them (e.g. smoke detectors) can’t be easily covered or turned off.
I currently use the cheap contoured cupped kinds (I think Bucky, currently), which are adequate. I find the cups vastly preferable to having something pressed against my eyes, and I dislike masks that feel heavy. A cheap mask will keep out most light (but not all of it). For the most part, they work. Sleeping with a mask is better than sleeping without one.
The problem with the cheap brands is that they always inevitably fall apart 3-5 months after being purchased, especially if you wash them. They're almost all glued, not stitched. They use materials like velcro everywhere.
A while back I tried to do some research to see if there was a premium market for nice, really durable, stitched brands. I couldn't find anything that stood out, it was a big surprise. I've considered trying to find someone on Etsy to try and custom make something.
Right now I'm paying $10-16 every 4 months for a disposal mask. I'd happily pay a ton more for a lightweight, cupped mask that actually blocked 100% of the light and that would last me a few years.
I went through about a dozen different masks over the course of 6 months and these were the most comfortable. I like the removable inserts -- sometimes I want the pressure on my eyelids, sometimes I don't. They completely block out the light. And they trap moisture so your eyes stay moist overnight.
It may be a bit of an extreme solution, to go around a hotel room, covering every tiny LED with electrical tape, but if you are very sensitive to light while you sleep, it can make a world of difference in the quality of your rest.
It is better than electrical tape for this purpose IMO.
I'm so sensitive to light at night that I actually thought about it.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00GSO1D9O/
Also, noise is usually a problem for me. I keep a fan running at night to provide a good background hum of white noise to help drown out any external sounds.