study
Sleeping with a sleep mask makes you smart — and this is why
© Алекс Ренко / Adobe Stock
Sleeping with a sleep mask makes you smart, because the brain benefits from the darkness. A scientific study found this out.
Especially now, in spring and summer, when it gets light early, some of us don’t sleep as well in the morning hours or even wake up earlier than we would like. This has also been scientifically proven: not only does the diffuse light in the morning hours influence our sleep, but also the ambient light in the bedroom in general. Light influences of any kind can disturb our sleep.
Fitter, faster, more receptive
Researchers at the international Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Center in Wales have now investigated how wearing a sleep mask affects memory and attention. result of their study: Anyone who sleeps with an eye mask achieves positive effects in everyday tasks such as studying or driving.
In their experiment, almost 100 18- to 35-year-olds wore a sleep mask every night for a week. The following week they slept without a mask. Five nights of acclimatization were followed by cognitive analyzes on the sixth and seventh day. These clearly showed that the people who wore a sleep mask at night were more awake the following day: they showed improved memory, more alertness and faster reactions. The explanation: people with sleep masks spend more time in deep sleep, which is good for the brain.
Which sleeping masks do you recommend?
So it’s worth trying a sleep mask and giving it some time to get used to it. Sleep coach Martin Schlott recommends on “Bayerischer Rundfunk” a mask that does not put any pressure on the eyes, because that can disrupt REM sleep, in which the eyes move under the lids. “I recommend a sleep mask that either has crescents or caps that curve over the eyelids, or masks that have padding so the eyes are free but have a good light seal around the edge,” says the expert. It only remains for us to wish all readers restful nights and stimulating days!