Key points
- Molded cups rest on the bone around each eye and leave the lids free to blink.
- Padding at the bridge of the nose closes the gap where morning light gets in first.
- Thin sides help side sleepers, and the strap belongs above the ears.
- Mesh and vented padding suit warm sleepers, and how a mask washes decides how often it gets washed.
Why a flat mask lets light in
A flat mask is a band of fabric with a thin layer of padding behind it. Pulled tight enough to stay on, the band presses on your closed lids, and every blink drags cloth across your lashes. Loosen it and the mask lifts off the cheeks beside the nose, where a bright stripe of morning light slips in under the edge. Most nights you end up with some of each.
That stripe matters because darkness is the whole point. The NHLBI lists a bedroom kept quiet, cool and dark among the habits that may improve sleep, and adds that a dim night light is fine if needed. A NIOSH training course for nurses on shift work goes further: whether you sleep at night or in the daytime, the bedroom should be very dark.
Curtains come first. An article on the AASM Sleep Education site by RAND scientist Wendy Troxel suggests blinds, drapes or even a dark sheet over the window. For light that cannot be avoided, or for partners who come to bed at different times, it suggests an eye mask. The guide to light at night starts with the room for that reason.
Cup depth: room for your lids and lashes
A molded mask replaces the flat band with two cups. Each rim rests on the bone around the eye, and the middle of the cup stays off the lid, so you can blink with the mask on. Depth is the number to look for. Our Contoured mask has cups 13 mm deep, which is room for natural lashes. The Spacious mask and the Pro Breathable go to 18 mm.
Measure from your lashes rather than your lids. Long lashes, extensions and mascara all call for the 18 mm cups. The guide to sleeping in lash extensions covers what eye doctors say about rubbing extensions. With shorter natural lashes, 13 mm is plenty. Of the two masks we list a thickness for, the Contoured is the slimmer: about 0.8 inches against 1.1 for the Pro, which leaves less between your face and the pillow.
The nose: where the light gets in
Look at the lower edge of any mask between the eyes. On a flat mask it is a straight line or a shallow notch, and your nose holds the fabric off the cheeks on both sides. That is where light gets in, when it gets in at all.
Our Contoured mask fills that space with 22 mm of padding at the bridge of the nose. Once it is on, press the padding lightly along each side of your nose so it meets the cheeks. On the Pro Breathable, the coverage runs right round the eyes and over the bridge, and a finger run down the nose should find no gap of light. The Spacious mask seals another way: its face side follows the brow and the cheeks, so light coming from above or below meets foam.
Thin sides for side sleepers
Sleep on your side and the edge of the mask ends up between your temple and the pillow. A thick side pushes into the skin there, and it can shift the whole mask, which breaks the seal at the nose.
All three of our masks are cut thinner at the sides than at the front. On the Contoured mask the sides are also bent at 15 degrees, so less foam is pressed into the pillow at the temple. The Spacious mask tapers thin at the temples for sleeping on your side, back or stomach. On the Pro, the sides slope down for the same reason.
The strap, and where to wear it
A strap has two jobs: it holds the mask still when you turn your head, and it stays out of your hair. Plain elastic does the first by squeezing. A buckle lets you set the length once and leave it there. The NIOSH course adds a point that makes this more than comfort. An eye mask, it says, is effective only if you keep it on for the entire sleep, and that is the strap's work more than the foam's.
- Contoured: a soft elastic band with a slide buckle, set anywhere from 19 to 28 inches around the head.
- Spacious: an elastic strap with a buckle that adjusts without catching the hair.
- Pro Breathable: two buckles, 18.6 to 25.2 inches, drawn evenly so the mask sits level and the strap does not twist.
- 1
Open the strap all the way and hold the mask so each cup sits on the bone around the eye, not on the lid.
- 2
Bring the strap over the crown of your head and let it sit above the ears.
- 3
Slide the buckle until the mask stays put when you turn your head, and stop there.
- 4
Blink with the mask on. If your lashes touch, move it higher on the brow.
Fabric, warmth and washing
Foam over your eyes holds warmth, and on a summer night you notice it. NIOSH describes a good sleep environment as very dark, quiet, cool and comfortable, and says such a room can improve sleep. The memory foam in our Contoured mask is perforated with air holes, so warm air has somewhere to go. If you run hot, look at the Pro Breathable mask. Its face fabric is a mesh, and the padding behind it is cut in a honeycomb of vents, so air moves through the mask instead of collecting under it.
Washing comes next. The Contoured mask is a hand-wash: cool water, a mild soap, the water pressed out in a towel and a flat dry. Thread-stitched seams let the Spacious mask go through the machine on a gentle cycle inside a laundry bag. The Pro takes either route, and its mesh dries faster than solid fabric.
Our three masks side by side
Start with how you sleep and the choice narrows fast. Natural lashes and an ordinary bedroom point to the Contoured mask, the first one we made, in 2018, and the only one in five colors. Lash extensions or makeup at night point to the Spacious mask. A warm room, a long flight or a shared dorm point to the Pro Breathable, which comes pre-washed in a gift box with a pouch and a pair of ear plugs. The Contoured box holds foam ear plugs too, and every model sits on our sleep mask shelf.
Compare all three masks
| Buy | Contoured | Spacious | Pro Breathable |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cup depth | 13 mm | 18 mm | 18 mm |
| At the nose | 22 mm of padding | Padding over the bridge | Padding over the bridge |
| Face | Memory foam with air holes, soft fabric | Ventilated foam, silky fabric, stitched seams | Mesh fabric, honeycomb-vented padding |
| Strap | 19 to 28 inches | Adjustable buckle strap | 18.6 to 25.2 inches |
| In the box | One mask in a drawstring pouch, with a pair of foam ear plugs, in a gift box | One mask in a drawstring pouch | One mask, a soft storage pouch and a pair of ear plugs, in a gift box. The mask is washed before it is packed |
| Washing | By hand, cool water | Gentle machine cycle in a bag | Gentle machine cycle in a bag |
| Colors | Black / Blue / Gray / Pink / Purple | Black, silver edge / Gray, black edge / Pink | Gray, orange trim |
| Best for | Everyday sleep, naps and travel, in five colors | Long lashes, lash extensions and makeup | Warm sleepers and long flights |
| Price | from $13.99 | $26.99 | $35.99 |
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Every mask named here is part of the MZOO range.
