Some people think wearing eye masks to bed is a chore, while others think it’s just a fashion trend to make them look cool as they sleep or have something that matches their PJs. Well no! Do you know that wearing an eye mask to bed increases your cognitive function? This article will explain the importance of using an eye mask.

WHAT STUDIES SAY ABOUT EYE MASKS

Recent studies have shown that wearing an eye mask to bed can improve the episodic memory and alertness of the user. When research was performed on eighteen to thirty-five-year-old study participants, it was found that wearing an eye mask to bed improved sleep quality and cognitive function. PsyPost revealed that good sleep is vital for the functioning of our brains and bodies. When you have little or poor quality sleep, it affects your alertness during daily activities. The study also shows that ambient light disrupts sleep.

The experiment on eye masks started when study author Viviana Greco moved to the U.K. and started facing sleeping challenges; her home didn’t have shutters, so she found sleeping difficult. She then became curious whether wearing an eye mask to bed would help block ambient light. Thus the experiment began.

The first experiment started with eighty-nine participants between eighteen and thirty-five. The participants slept five nights with an eye mask and were given a cognitive test for two days. They then spent another five nights sleeping without an eye mask and were again tested for two days.

In the second experiment, thirty-three people between the ages of eighteen and thirty-five spent two nights using an eye mask and two nights using an eye mask with cutouts (the eye region was not covered). They were also given tests.

When the results of both experiments came out, the scientists discovered that they had better learning performance when the participants slept with an eye mask. They stated that this was because when wearing a mask, the participants spent more time in slow sleep waves, which led to memory improvement. PsyPost says that slow waves restore the ability of the brain to cipher new information. Viviana told PsyPost that their results spoke about an improvement in reaction time and also in memory performance. She stated further that the implications of their results are significant to many day-to-day tasks that require learning. 

Since many people have trouble sleeping at night and struggle in everyday activities, wearing an eye mask overnight can effectively improve their cognitive performance.