Sleep Masks

What a sleep mask does and doesn't do

A sleep mask is a shaped piece of fabric, sometimes padded, held over your eyes by a strap. It blocks light at the one place that matters for sleep: your eyelids. That's the whole job.

Light matters because your body keeps time by it. The NIGMS, part of the NIH, says light and dark have the biggest influence on circadian rhythms, the body's daily clock. It also says light from electronic devices at night can confuse that clock. A mask can't change your schedule, and it can't turn off your phone. It can make the room dark when the room won't cooperate.

The CDC's list of sleep habits asks for a bedroom that's quiet, relaxing and cool, plus devices off 30 minutes before bed. A mask is a small tool for one of those jobs. It isn't a fix for trouble sleeping, and if a listing says it is, that's the maker talking.

How to read the sleep mask table

The table below shows each field only when the maker or the Amazon listing states it. A dash means nobody put it in writing. For electric heated masks, the auto shut-off field always shows, and an empty one reads "Not stated by the maker".

Mask type is the first thing to check

Mask type sorts every mask into one of six shapes: standard (flat), silk or satin flat, contoured or 3D, weighted, heated, and cooling or gel. It comes from the maker's own product description, not from a photo. Shape decides fit more than any other field, so start here.

Material says what touches your face

Material is the fabric as stated: cotton, polyester, satin, memory foam, modal, mulberry silk. A mask is listed as silk only when the maker says silk. Satin is a weave, not a fiber, and most satin masks are polyester. The FTC requires textile labels to name fibers by their generic name and percentage by weight, so the fiber line on the package is the honest one. A title that says "silky" doesn't count.

Strap decides whether it stays on

Strap is adjustable elastic, hook-and-loop (Velcro), a buckle, a fixed band or no strap. An adjustable strap lets you set the tension yourself. A fixed band is simpler but has to fit your head as made. Hook-and-loop can grab hair at the back. If the maker gives a strap length, it shows; most don't.

Contoured eye cups keep pressure off your eyes

This field is yes when the maker describes molded cups, deep eye cups or "zero eye pressure". The cups sit around your eyes instead of on them, so you can blink. Contoured masks have their own page.

Light blocking is a claim, not a test

"100% blackout" and similar words appear here exactly as the maker writes them. We don't rate light blocking ourselves. Light usually sneaks in at the bridge of the nose, so look at the shape there in the photos. Masks sold mainly on that claim are on the blackout sleep masks page.

Silk weight and grade appear only as stated

Momme is a weight measure for silk; a higher number means denser fabric. A grade like 6A is a maker's quality label, not a standard certification. Both show only when stated, and satin masks don't have either. The silk sleep masks page goes deeper.

Weight matters only on weighted masks

For a weighted mask, the stated weight is the spec. We take it from the maker, because Amazon's weight row is often the package.

Care, OEKO-TEX and the rest

• Care. Machine wash, hand wash or spot clean, as stated. Hand wash is common for silk and foam.
• OEKO-TEX. Shown only when the maker states it. OEKO-TEX STANDARD 100 means the textile was tested for harmful substances. You can check a certificate number on the OEKO-TEX Label Check.
• Cooling method. Gel beads you chill, a freezer insert or a fabric the maker says cools, with how. No method, no cooling.
• Heat source. USB, microwave or self-heating, for heated masks.
• Pieces in pack. Some listings sell two masks, or a mask with ear plugs.

The six kinds of sleep mask, and when each makes sense

Most people need one of the first three. The last three are for specific jobs.

Flat masks are light and simple

A flat mask is one shaped panel with a strap, usually with a little padding. It rests directly on your eyelids. It's thin, so it folds into a pocket and sits flat when you lie on your side. If you don't mind light pressure on your eyes, a flat mask is the plain answer.

Silk and satin masks are flat masks in smooth fabric

Same shape, smoother face. Silk means mulberry silk, as stated. Satin is satin, usually polyester, and that's fine. People choose these for the feel and because the fabric slides on the pillowcase instead of catching.

Contoured masks keep their cups off your eyes

Molded cups leave a pocket of space in front of each eye. If you blink a lot as you settle, or wear eye makeup or lash extensions, look here first. The trade-off is thickness. Cups add depth, which side sleepers feel against the pillow.

My one opinion on masks: a contoured mask that doesn't press on your eyes beats a pretty flat one. The reason is in the table: the "contoured eye cups" field tells you which masks leave room to blink. Pretty doesn't have a field.

Weighted masks add gentle pressure

A weighted mask has a filled layer, often beads, that rests on your face with some weight. Makers describe what that pressure is for in their own words, and we quote them as the maker's. Weight shows only when stated.

Heated and cooling masks are temperature tools

Heated eye masks warm up by USB or in a microwave. Cooling eye masks use a gel insert you chill first. Both are often sold for resting your eyes rather than for wearing all night. Follow the maker's heating or chilling instructions to the letter. An electric mask belongs on your face only as long as the maker says, with the cord kept clear of the pillow. Any wording about eye conditions is the maker's, quoted as the maker's.

Choose a sleep mask by how you sleep

Your sleep position matters as much as your face.

• Back sleepers. Any shape works. Contoured masks are most comfortable here, because nothing presses the cups sideways.
• Side sleepers. Thin and flat at the temples. A thick contoured mask can shift when your face meets the pillow. The sleep masks for side sleepers list keeps the slim ones.
• Stomach sleepers. The thinnest flat mask you can find, or none.
• Lash extensions or makeup. Contoured cups. The sleep masks for lash extensions page shows only masks whose maker says so.
• Travelers. Thin, packable, with an adjustable strap. See travel sleep masks.

Pages for sleep masks for men and sleep masks for women sort by strap size and fit, not by color. Masks don't care who wears them. (Biscuit has worn one exactly once. He considered it a hat.)

Size and fit: the nose and the strap

Masks are mostly one size, so fit comes from two places.

First, the nose. Look at the cutout under the bridge in the photos. A deep cutout seals better against light; a shallow one leaves a gap. If you wear the mask and see a strip of light at the bottom, that's where it's coming from.

Second, the strap. It should hold the mask in place without leaving a dent in your hair. An adjustable strap is the safer choice if you're buying for someone else, or if you don't know your head size yet.

A mask that's too tight presses on your eyes. One that's too loose ends up on your forehead by morning, which is also where my old radio headphones used to end up after a long shift.

Care: wash it like a pillowcase you wear on your face

A mask sits on your skin all night, so it gets washed more than most bedding.

• Read the care tag first. Silk and foam masks often say hand wash.
• Machine-washable masks usually do better in a mesh laundry bag, if the maker says so.
• Gel and heated masks usually can't go in water at all. Some have a removable cover; wash only that.
• Dry flat unless the tag says otherwise. Foam and molded cups can lose their shape in a hot dryer.

Have two masks if you wear one every night. One can dry while you wear the other.

Travel: where the sleep mask lives

Every December I fly to San Antonio for my family's Christmas Eve tamales. My sleep mask and my ear plugs live in the same pocket of the same carry-on, and they never leave it, not even in July. That way I'm never searching a hotel room for them at midnight.

For travel, thin beats thick, and an adjustable strap beats a fixed one, because you may wear the mask over a neck pillow or in a seat that pushes your head forward. Some listings sell a mask with ear plugs in one pouch. The travel pillows page covers the other half of a plane nap.

Who can skip a sleep mask

If your bedroom is already dark and you sleep through the night, you don't need a mask. You need to tell everyone about your bedroom.

You can also skip one if:

• you've tried masks and can't stand anything on your face, and blackout curtains or shades are an option
• light isn't what wakes you up; noise is, and ear plugs or a white noise machine fits better
• your eye doctor has told you not to wear anything over your eyes

Related pages

• Sleep accessories, the section page
• Contoured sleep masks, silk sleep masks and weighted sleep masks
• Best sleep masks, ranked by a written rule
• Sleep calculator, for a bedtime that fits your alarm
• Sleep sanctuary guide, for light, sound and temperature in one room

Sleep well.