Review: Sleep Master sleeping mask
May. 29th, 2013 09:42 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
julesjonesI wrote this review for the Amazon product page, but given how many of you lot would find it useful, I'm putting it here as well. I should note that the UK distributor contacted me through Amazon after I'd bought it, and asked if I'd be willing to write a review, as there weren't many on the UK Amazon site. However, I'd already intended to write a review for exactly that reason -- I'd had to go to the US site to find enough information to see if the product would suit me. It just got written rather sooner than it might have been without the request.
***
I'm a daylight-sensitive insomniac who is tired of waking up with the dawn when I'm sleeping in an east-facing room. The sort of masks handed out by airlines help for the odd night, but they're not good enough for regular use. I bought the Sleep Master on spec, and while it's not perfect, it's a lot better than any other mask I've tried. For me it was well worth the 22 pounds I paid for it. I bought mine for insomnia, but I think it's also worth trying for light-sensitive migraine.
It's a wrap-around padded blindfold held on with a velcro fastener, and has no straps or elastic involved in keeping it on your head. There are padded areas over the ears to muffle sound, and it comes with two sets of earplugs if you want heavy-duty sound blocking.
What it's very, very good at is blocking out the light. It's very wide, the padding ensures that almost no light gets through the blindfold itself, and the cut out around the nose is a good shape that ensures a good light seal in that area.
Comfort-wise, it's very good once you get used to it. It's made from a soft, silky material that feels comfortable against my skin. I was concerned that it might get too sweaty, but so far haven't had any problems. The padding makes it quite thick, which makes it feel a bit odd to lie on at first, but after a few days I didn't notice it. The main problem I noticed was that it rests directly against the eyelids, which means that if you're prone to opening your eyes when sleeping, you won't be able to and it's going to disturb your sleep.
It's held on by a long velcro strip which provides plenty of size adjustment, and which does a good job of holding it securely closed without it loosening during the night, as elastic is prone to do. It's also a lot more comfortable than elastic. The one drawback is that I found that it doesn't reliably stay on during the night, although that may because I'm a fairly restless sleeper. It's easy enough to slip back on if it does come off.
The blindfold by itself does muffle sound a little, and could be enough to mask low levels of irritating sound. The flip side of this is that it adds sounds of its own -- the rustling of satin cloth against skin right next to your ear. This could be helpful, if you find it soothing white noise that masks other sounds, or it could be annoying in its own right. I haven't tried the earplugs it came with, but one pair is the type I used to wear in a high decibel industrial environment as hearing protection, so I know that it's capable of blocking very high sound levels.
Washing directions are hand wash in cold water and drip dry. So far it seems to have survived the experience, and I didn't get any colour bleeding. I suspect that you could get away with occasional mashine washing on the wool cycle if you put it in a delicates bag, which matters if you're like me and have hand problems, but I'm not going to try it unless I need to.
In summary: excellent product which should suit most people.
***
An additional bit of review for the blog only -- yes, I'm sure it will be very useful for Other Purposes as well. :-)
I'm probably going to bring this along with me to cons, since so many hotel rooms don't have adequate blackout curtains. If anyone wants to have a look at it with a view to purchasing one of their own, feel free to ask.
Revolutionary, Patented SLEEP MASTER (tm) Sleep Mask. Worlds most effective light and noise reduction package. Helps with snoring partners , insomnia , shift work , jet lag for truly restful sleep. Prevents disturbed rest ensures peaceful slumber
***
I'm a daylight-sensitive insomniac who is tired of waking up with the dawn when I'm sleeping in an east-facing room. The sort of masks handed out by airlines help for the odd night, but they're not good enough for regular use. I bought the Sleep Master on spec, and while it's not perfect, it's a lot better than any other mask I've tried. For me it was well worth the 22 pounds I paid for it. I bought mine for insomnia, but I think it's also worth trying for light-sensitive migraine.
It's a wrap-around padded blindfold held on with a velcro fastener, and has no straps or elastic involved in keeping it on your head. There are padded areas over the ears to muffle sound, and it comes with two sets of earplugs if you want heavy-duty sound blocking.
What it's very, very good at is blocking out the light. It's very wide, the padding ensures that almost no light gets through the blindfold itself, and the cut out around the nose is a good shape that ensures a good light seal in that area.
Comfort-wise, it's very good once you get used to it. It's made from a soft, silky material that feels comfortable against my skin. I was concerned that it might get too sweaty, but so far haven't had any problems. The padding makes it quite thick, which makes it feel a bit odd to lie on at first, but after a few days I didn't notice it. The main problem I noticed was that it rests directly against the eyelids, which means that if you're prone to opening your eyes when sleeping, you won't be able to and it's going to disturb your sleep.
It's held on by a long velcro strip which provides plenty of size adjustment, and which does a good job of holding it securely closed without it loosening during the night, as elastic is prone to do. It's also a lot more comfortable than elastic. The one drawback is that I found that it doesn't reliably stay on during the night, although that may because I'm a fairly restless sleeper. It's easy enough to slip back on if it does come off.
The blindfold by itself does muffle sound a little, and could be enough to mask low levels of irritating sound. The flip side of this is that it adds sounds of its own -- the rustling of satin cloth against skin right next to your ear. This could be helpful, if you find it soothing white noise that masks other sounds, or it could be annoying in its own right. I haven't tried the earplugs it came with, but one pair is the type I used to wear in a high decibel industrial environment as hearing protection, so I know that it's capable of blocking very high sound levels.
Washing directions are hand wash in cold water and drip dry. So far it seems to have survived the experience, and I didn't get any colour bleeding. I suspect that you could get away with occasional mashine washing on the wool cycle if you put it in a delicates bag, which matters if you're like me and have hand problems, but I'm not going to try it unless I need to.
In summary: excellent product which should suit most people.
***
An additional bit of review for the blog only -- yes, I'm sure it will be very useful for Other Purposes as well. :-)
I'm probably going to bring this along with me to cons, since so many hotel rooms don't have adequate blackout curtains. If anyone wants to have a look at it with a view to purchasing one of their own, feel free to ask.
Revolutionary, Patented SLEEP MASTER (tm) Sleep Mask. Worlds most effective light and noise reduction package. Helps with snoring partners , insomnia , shift work , jet lag for truly restful sleep. Prevents disturbed rest ensures peaceful slumber