If you are anything like me, you don’t really get the hype around sleep or eye masks. They appear to be a little “extra”, kind of like the weird cousin of the pamper box, that now you need to stash in an already jam-packed bedside drawer. Well, this may be true for some of the novelty options available, but it isn’t the case for well-made cotton or silk varieties. 

A brief history

As you can imagine the history of these face-straddling accessories isn’t particularly long, yay, I hear you mumble, as there was no need for them, pre-retina scalding invasive electric lights. Nights used to be dark with the only light intrusion being the monthly full moon. The need for a sleep aid would have been pointless. With industrialization in the 19th century came brighter evenings and sleep problems began. Two clever sausages Edward C. Elsie M. Hemphill filed a patent with the US patent office in 1930 for the “Eye sleep shade” that would change the gifting course of every bridal shower thereafter. 

Benefits

Forgive me the oversimplification here if you will. When are in a state of deep sleep our brains enter into a self-cleaning mode, the imaginary of a brain in the bathtub with a loofah makes me giggle. During this process, all the waste fluid that surrounds our brain cells is flushed and replaced with fresh fluid. A badly “washed” brain could play a role in neurodegeneration and disorders. Our brain is also busy with the housework while we sleep, filing memories and learning.

To get to this delightful self-cleaning state we need the hormone melatonin, light can suppress its production, so if you would like to acquire more naturally rather than the store-bought variety a sleep mask may just be the right move for you. I would suggest natural fibres like cotton or silk to help with temperature, and as we have seen silk for the anti-ageing wrinkle-free vibe.