Do Eye Masks and Ear Plugs Help You Sleep Better?  

As we already know that light and noise have an impact on how we sleep, historically humans have always found ways to create light to help themselves see easier and better at night such as candles and lightbulbs. However, these were things that could be turned off when it was time to go to sleep, now we have a lot of different sources of light that can distract us and prevent us from getting a good night’s sleep. It has been found that light has an effect on the hormone that is released to help the body know when it is time to sleep and when it is time to wake up and external light can confuse the body’s circadian rhythm which will ultimately delay the production of melatonin; the hormone that regulates when the body should sleep and when it should wake up.  

A lot of factors may slow down the production of melatonin in terms of external light such as the light from the streetlights peeking through the window, light from cars passing by and the light from devices like laptops and phone screens. Although you can help whether there is light that effects your pattern of sleep, it is quite hard to stop it sometimes. However, it is harder to control the levels of noise that disrupts your sleep, there are a lot of external noises that may affect your sleep and may stop you from going to sleep almost all these noises are out of your control. The noises from construction sites, noises from the weather (heavy wind and thunder), cars and so much more. There is a plethora of different sources in which noise pollution may be present thus disrupting your sleep, luckily there are ear plugs available to help block and cancel these disruptions. To help with these external factors of light effecting your sleep maybe investing into a sleep mask may prove to be quite useful not only in your quality of sleep but also your overall health.  

There was a study conducted which looked into how sleep was affected in ICU, there were two groups in this experiment one group were given eye masks and earplugs to block out the external noise and light and the other group weren’t given anything to block out the noise or light when they were sleeping. They examined the patient’s melatonin and cortisol levels to determine whether the eye masks and earplugs had an effect on the patients sleep, the results concluded that the patients that wore eye mask and ear plugs had an elevated amount of melatonin compared to the subjects that did not and that the group that wore eye masks and ear plugs to sleep also had a deeper sleep and less awakenings during their night's sleep. Other benefits to wearing an eye mask and ear plugs when sleeping was that the patients had lower anxiety levels and shorter sleep onset latency in comparison to the patients that didn’t have eye masks and ear plugs. Although this study was conducted in an environment with ICU present, it doesn’t mean that the results can’t be applied to your sleeping environment.  

This study showed that using eye masks and ear plugs are beneficial and helped with the aid of allowing you to fall asleep faster and improved the quality of sleep, both of these items are affordable and accessible to most people thus helping you with your sleep cycle. Another purchase that will help you elevate your quality of sleep is investing in a good mattress, a cheap small double ottoman bed with mattress is a good option for people that are looking for something that is of good quality and affordable. There are many options for mattress there are hybrid mattresses, firm mattress, memory foam and so many other options some better suited for your body and your needs, needless to say there are a lot of different options for mattress now that will help heighten your quality of sleep once you find a mattress that suits you.  

There are a few things to look for when purchasing both an eye mask and ear plugs, some things to look for: 

For Eye Masks: 

• Completely block out all light 
• It should be made of soft, comfortable, and breathable material 
• Have an adjustable strap that fits securely to your head, keeping the mask from falling off at night 
• It shouldn’t put uncomfortable pressure on your eyes 

For Ear Plugs: 

• It should be comfortable to put in your ears and to sleep with 
• Noise reduction is best when looking to buy ear plug opposed to complete noise cancellation  
• The material of the ear plugs should be of good quality 

Make sure you get something that is catered to your desire. Both reusable and single-use ear plugs tend to offer different benefits although the change of quality may seem small to others it may make a huge difference to others.  

The best way to find out what may work for you will ultimately mean that you will have to do some research yourself by reading reviews for mattress, eye masks and ear plugs to determine which type is going to work best for you.