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This Sleep Mask Means Serious Business
Lights. Out.
Manta Sleep masks, starting at $29.99
The Manta sleep mask is the blackout-curtain experience of sleep masks. There are other great sleep masks out there, but this one is for the experience of absolute darkness. The company makes an interchangeable headbands paired with mix-and-match eye cups that lead to a completely lightless night. (Warning: yes, you’ll look like you’re wearing a pair of aviators to bed).
There are many options for the headbands - the slim fit, the weighted mask, lavender-scented model. However, having tried most of these, I recommend keeping it simple with their basic band. The velcro fastens in the back and is thoughtful - it doesn’t catch on your hair, and it stays on firmly. Ultimately, however, the headband is just the delivery system for the eye cups, which is where darkness lies.
The eye cups attach by Velcro from the inside. There are a few different choices, but I feel like I get the most pitch-black experience with the weighted, cooling eye cups. They don’t really cool, but that doesn’t matter - they blot out the world. Once I’ve Velcro’d them to the headband, it’s a little tricky to fasten it in the back. You’ll pick it up quickly; just know there’s a bit of a learning curve. Then lie back. The eye cups don’t weigh on your eyelids or apply pressure to your eyelashes when you flutter them. Now that you can’t see anything, you may as well go to sleep.
Manta claims “100% blackout for deeper sleep” and I, a lifetime insomniac living in a ground-floor apartment, can actually say “hell yes” to this claim. I’ve ordered a backup pair of the cooling eye cups, you know, just in case. This is a product not just for your noisy life, but for anywhere sleep might get weird, like travel - like unfamiliar hotel rooms, your in-law’s spare room, or maybe you work third shift - any time sleep might get weird. You no longer have to stay up late worrying about the shadows the branches are making against your window, and all the other things that trouble you at 2 o’clock in the morning. Lights out.
