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How these picks were made: by comparing published specifications and clearly-credited public reporting. We do not run a laboratory, we have not measured these products, and we do not claim to have slept with them. Here is exactly how we choose.
Stand in your bedroom at night with the lights off and wait five minutes for your eyes to adjust. You will be able to see. Most people can read the time, make out the furniture, and identify half a dozen small glowing points they had stopped noticing years ago.
How dark a bedroom actually needs to be
The 2022 consensus recommendations published in PLOS Biology suggest keeping light at the eye under about 1 melanopic lux during sleep, a maximum of 10 in the three hours before bed, and at least 250 during the day.
One lux is genuinely dark - considerably darker than most people’s idea of a dark room. Harvard Health notes that even dim light around 8 lux, roughly twice a night light and less than most table lamps, has measurable circadian effects, and that blue light suppresses melatonin about twice as long as green light of comparable brightness.
Try this tonight, for free, in this order
- Do the walk-around. Lights off, five minutes to adjust, then find every glowing thing: router, TV standby, charger, smoke alarm, thermostat, clock, monitor, extension lead. There will be more than you expect. Most can be turned around, unplugged, moved out of the room, or covered with a small piece of electrical tape.
- Block the gap above the curtain rail. The strip of light above a rail is the single brightest leak in most bedrooms and almost nobody addresses it. A pelmet, a board, or hanging the curtain from the ceiling instead of the frame all work.
- Seal the gap under the door. Hallway light under a bedroom door is brighter than it looks, and a draft excluder handles both that and some of the noise.
- Overlap the window, do not match it. A curtain the same width as the window leaves a vertical line down each edge. Several inches of overlap on each side fixes it. Blinds fitted inside the recess are the worst configuration available, because light escapes around all four edges by design.
- Move the phone out of arm’s reach. A screen checked at 3am is the brightest thing that will happen to your eyes all night.
- Turn the clock to face the wall. Two benefits: less light, and you stop doing arithmetic about how little sleep you are going to get.
The gear that finishes it
A sleep mask - cheapest, and the only thing that handles the whole room
Curtains deal with the window. They do nothing about a charging indicator, a partner’s phone, or a hallway light. A mask blocks light from every direction, costs about as much as lunch, travels, and works tonight.
The three failure modes are all fit problems with known fixes: light leaking at the nose, pressure on the eyelids, and bulk if you sleep on your side. The full mask guide covers which shape solves which, and side sleepers have their own shortlist.
Blackout curtains - for a permanent fix to window light
Worth it if the window is genuinely the problem and you want something that cannot slip off at 4am. Fit them wider and longer than the window, and deal with the top gap - otherwise you will have spent a lot of money and still have a bright line. Mask versus curtains, compared properly.
If you sleep during the day, you need both
Daylight is orders of magnitude brighter than anything at night and arrives from every direction. The night shift guide and the night-shift mask roundup cover that properly.
The other end of the same problem
Darkness at night is half of it. The same PLOS Biology recommendations put a daytime minimum of 250 melanopic lux at the eye, and a modern indoor life supplies far less than that. Getting proper light in the morning is the other half of keeping your body clock anchored - which is the entire argument for sunrise alarm clocks, and also an argument for going outside, which is free.
The gear that finishes the job
Tap any row to jump to the full write-up. The photographs are licensed stock images chosen to illustrate the category - they are not photographs of these specific products, and each one’s alt text describes what is actually shown.
| # | Product | Best for | The spec that decides it | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Alaska Bear Natural Silk Sleep MaskA flat silk mask that costs less than lunch and blocks a surprising amount of light - the honest default before you spend more. | The cheapest mask genuinely worth owning | Flat mulberry silk, no cups, no bulk | |
| 2 |  Manta Sleep Mask ProThe most adjustable mask in the category: the eye cups move independently, so you can seal a nose bridge that defeats every one-piece mask. | Total blackout on a back sleeper | Independently repositionable eye cups, zero eye pressure | |
| 3 |  Nidra Deep Rest Sleep MaskMolded eye cups with slim side panels - it keeps the no-pressure benefit of a contoured mask without the depth that ruins side sleeping. | Side sleepers who still want contoured blackout | Molded cups with deliberately slim side panels |
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The mask is deliberately first and cheapest: it is the only thing here that also handles light coming from inside the room.
Our top pick · The cheapest mask genuinely worth owning
1. Alaska Bear Natural Silk Sleep Mask
A flat silk mask that costs less than lunch and blocks a surprising amount of light - the honest default before you spend more.
- Material:
- Natural mulberry silk shell
- Profile:
- Flat - sits against the face
- Strap:
- Elasticated, adjustable
- Packability:
- Folds to nothing
What it gets right
- Almost nothing to feel against a pillow, so side sleepers get on with it
- Silk is kinder to skin and lashes than a foam contact surface
- Cheap enough to keep a spare in a bag
Where it falls short
- Flat masks touch the eyelid, so you cannot open your eyes underneath
- Light leaks around the nose on most faces
- Silk stains and is easily damaged in a hot wash
Skip it if: You need genuine blackout for daytime sleep. A flat mask will not get you there.
Pick 2 · Total blackout on a back sleeper
2. Manta Sleep Mask Pro
The most adjustable mask in the category: the eye cups move independently, so you can seal a nose bridge that defeats every one-piece mask.
- Construction:
- Modular cups on a hook-and-loop band
- Eye pressure:
- None - the cups arch over the eye socket
- Adjustment:
- Cups reposition horizontally to match your face
- Strap:
- Wide adjustable band
What it gets right
- Seals light at the nose bridge better than any fixed-shape mask once fitted
- No contact with the eyelid, so you can blink freely and sleep in contacts
- Cups and band are replaceable, so the mask outlives its fabric
Where it falls short
- The deepest profile here - the cups stand well off the face
- Fitting it correctly takes a few nights of adjustment
- Premium price
Skip it if: You sleep strictly on your side. The cups press into the pillow and then into your face.
Pick 3 · Side sleepers who still want contoured blackout
3. Nidra Deep Rest Sleep Mask
Molded eye cups with slim side panels - it keeps the no-pressure benefit of a contoured mask without the depth that ruins side sleeping.
- Construction:
- Molded contoured cups
- Side panels:
- Slim, for pillow contact
- Eye pressure:
- None - the cups clear the lashes
- Strap:
- Adjustable
What it gets right
- The best blackout-to-bulk ratio in this roundup
- Cheap relative to the premium contoured masks
- Lash clearance is real, which matters if you wear eye makeup or lash extensions
Where it falls short
- Less adjustable than a modular mask - the fit is the fit
- Nose-bridge sealing depends on your face shape
- Fabric wears faster than the premium options
Skip it if: Your light leak is at a high nose bridge. Buy adjustable cups instead.
Questions people actually ask
How dark should a bedroom be for sleeping?
The 2022 PLOS Biology consensus recommendations suggest under about 1 melanopic lux at the eye during sleep. That is considerably darker than most people's idea of a dark room - Harvard Health notes measurable circadian effects at around 8 lux, dimmer than most table lamps.
How do I make my bedroom completely dark?
Find and cover every standby LED first, block the gap above the curtain rail, seal the gap under the door, and fit window coverings wider and longer than the window rather than matching it. Then a sleep mask for whatever is left.
Why do blackout curtains still let light in?
Because light comes in around the edges, not through the fabric. The gap above the rail is the biggest culprit, then the sides if the curtain is only as wide as the window. Blinds fitted inside the recess leak around all four edges by design.
Is a sleep mask better than blackout curtains?
For light coming from inside the room, yes - a curtain does nothing about a router LED or a partner's phone. Curtains are better for a permanent fix to window light and cannot slip off at 4am. Day sleepers want both.
Does a phone screen at night really affect sleep?
A screen at arm's length is well above the roughly 1 melanopic lux the PLOS Biology recommendations suggest during sleep. Harvard Health also notes that blue light suppresses melatonin about twice as long as comparable green light.
Sources
Back to what to do when you can't sleep.