Rest and Recharge: How Sleeping With an Eye Mask Can Benefit Your Wellbeing

We are all well aware of the importance of quality nighttime sleep for our overall health. While some people don’t have a problem falling asleep as soon as they close their eyes, others spend countless hours trying to catch a sleep. While it’s important to address any underlying health issues that might cause sleep disturbances, it’s also essential to improve your sleep hygiene.

Even a simple change like sleeping in complete darkness can help you fall into a slumber that will reset your energy levels and help you wake up fresh and well-rested. One of the ways to achieve that is to start using a comfy eye cover for sleeping as a part of your bedtime routine. If you haven’t already known, sleeping with an eye cover comes with several benefits that can improve your overall nighttime rest.

What Can Sleeping With an Eye Cover Mask Do for You?

Those who suffer from a lack of sleep, know well the negative effects on their overall wellbeing. While there might be some health reasons responsible for your insomnia, most people just lack good nighttime hygiene. Although most experts recommend going to bed as early as 10 pm, for many people that’s simply impossible. Due to their work schedules and lifestyles, not many folks can afford to go that early to bed.

But one thing you can do to improve your nighttime sleep is to try an eye cover for sleeping and see if it works for you. Eye sleeping masks have been shown to improve sleep quality and they offer several benefits that make them worth the thought.

Enhances Melatonin Production

So, Is it good to sleep with an eye cover?” – Absolutely and here’s why. Melatonin is a hormone responsible for regulating our nighttime sleep. A sleep mask can help enhance melatonin production and thus, improve sleep quality. So, how does this work?

Certain factors stimulate the production of melatonin, and darkness is one of them. When it gets dark, the eyes signal to our brain that is time to sleep and the pineal gland starts producing melatonin to help us fall asleep. Covering your eyes with a sleep blindfold, you’re blocking any light source that can disrupt your body’s natural melatonin production. By doing so, you are creating a dark environment, which signals to your brain that is time for melatonin to come into play.

This is particularly beneficial if where you sleep there are artificial light sources that can disrupt your sleeping cycle. Practising going every night to bed wearing a sleep mask can help you improve your sleep cycle over time and you create a sustainable sleep routine that is easy to maintain.

Reduces Eye Strain 

Throughout the day, it’s normal to accumulate tension in our facial muscles and eyes and wearing a sleep eye mask reduces eye strain. The gentle pressure of the mask helps your facial muscles and the muscles around the eyes to relax. The relaxation elevates the accumulated tension and helps us have a more comfortable and restful sleep during the night. 

Additionally, wearing an eye mask can also help prevent dry eyes. Having dry eyes puts a lot of pressure on the eyes which causes eye strain. People that struggle with this issue, can experience great discomfort during sleep. When we sleep, our eyes are exposed to air, and they can become dry and irritated.  So, by covering your eyes with an eye mask for sleep, you’re protecting your eyes from becoming dry. The eye cover helps retain moisture, which significantly reduces eye discomfort. 

Improves Sleep Quality

Studies have shown that wearing a sleep blindfold can lead to deeper and more restorative sleep. Eye sleep masks optimize melatonin production, reduce sleep disruptions from light sources, relax the mussels around the eyes and protect the eyes from environmental irritants. When you factor in all the benefits, it’s evident that over time, an eye sleeping maks can significantly improve sleep quality, resulting in a healthier and happier life. 

When we are well-rested, we feel better both mentally and physically. In fact, how well we sleep at night can either exacerbate our existing mood disorders or elevate our symptoms. 

Helpful for Shift Workers and Travelers 

This is the part about that, not everyone can have an early bedtime routine. If that was the case, we wouldn’t have half of the jobs that exist in modern times. Night shift workers and those who need to travel frequently have a messed up sleeping schedule. One of the things they can do to have a good rest during off-working hours or travelling to different time zones is to create a dark environment so they can fall asleep. 

When the circumstances do not allow that to happen, a sleeping eye mask can certainly help. Covering your eyes with a sleep mask can help mitigate the negative effects of light exposure and support your body’s ability to adjust to new sleeping schedules by promoting melatonin production. 

What Is the Best Material for a Sleep Eye Mask?

Silk is considered the best material for eye covers for several reasons. Silk feels gentle and soft to the eyes and the delicate skin around the eyes. It does not irritate the eyes, which makes it ideal for those who suffer from allergies and its soft and luxurious touch is pretty relaxing. It helps with moisture retention so it doesn’t dry out the eyes and helps regulate temperature by allowing air to circulate. 

Additionally, silk is pretty effective in blocking light so you can rest assured that you’ll have a restful night’s sleep. Although it tends to be more expensive than other materials, it offers plentiful benefits that are hard to ignore.