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By completely blocking out light while you sleep, wearing a night mask would have a double beneficial effect: it would allow better sleep and make you more alert during the day. What to invest in this simple accessory.
Do you sleep badly at night, and feel tired during the day? Science may have the solution, and it is not in a cure of capsules or a drastic treatment but in a simple fabric accessory: the night mask. Indeed, according to two experiments carried out and published in the journal sleepingwearing a light-blocking mask during sleep would have a positive impact on cognitive performance.
The night mask responsible for better cognitive performance?
The first study involved a sample of 89 participants aged 18 to 35, conducted over two weeks. During an experimental week, participants slept at home for 5 nights while wearing an eye mask, then took part in 2 days of testing. During the control week, participants slept at home for 5 nights without an eye mask, then 2 test days.
Researchers found that participants showed better learning performance on a word pair association task after wearing the eye mask. They also responded more quickly to a psychomotor alertness test that measured behavioral alertness and sustained attention.
A second experiment included 33 participants between the ages of 18 and 35. This time, the participants spent two nights sleeping with an eye mask (experimental procedure) and two nights sleeping with an eye mask with cutouts so that no tissue covered the eye area (control procedure ). Participants slept at home with a digital light meter placed on their pillows and while wearing an EEG headband to examine their sleep stages.
In both cases, the sleep mask resulted in:
- Better encoding of episodic memory;
- Better alertness;
- Better learning performance.
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The importance of the sleeping environment
The discovery does not surprise Dr. Jonathan Taieb, sleep specialist, contacted by Doctissimo:
“This is a study that reinforces the known importance of the sleep environment. We know that to fall asleep, darkness is a factor that allows good regulation of sleep/wake rhythms. Sleeping in the dark would stimulate the secretion of melatonin and therefore the regulation of different markers such as blood pressure, blood sugar, temperature which allow better quality sleep. Conversely, the retina would contain photoreceptors which, when they capture light, would block the secretion of melatonin to stay alert during the day.”
Nature is therefore well done. But faced with the light pollution that surrounds us, it could well need a little help, in the form of a satin mask or any other blackout material.