The Manta Sleep Mask is the best sleep mask for most people: its contoured cups move to seal out light without touching your eyelids, and it goes in the washing machine. On a budget, the MZOO uses the same contoured idea for about $18 on Amazon.
Daylight does most of the work for free. Start with sunlight first.
DisclosureSome links earn us a commission. That never moves a product up the list. How we make money
Most trials are in intensive care units. A 2021 meta-analysis of 13 ICU trials (797 patients) found eye masks alone improved self-rated sleep quality (standardized mean difference 1.56), but a Cochrane review rated the ICU evidence low quality and found objective sleep gains inconsistent. In the largest study in healthy adults (89 people sleeping with curtains open in summer), a week with a light-blocking mask gave small next-day gains in word learning (d = 0.19) and reaction time (d = 0.16).
A mask handles the dark half of the day. The 2022 expert consensus that recommends a dark bedroom also asks for at least 250 lux melanopic EDI during the day. Take the mask off when you get up and get outside early. Why morning sunlight matters.
| Product | Eye cups | Material | Adjustability | Washing | Audio | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manta Sleep Mask | Contoured O-cups, movable | Modal cups, polycotton strap | 73 cm adjustable strap; cups slide and tilt | Machine wash cold in mesh bag | None | $39 |
| MZOO Luxury Sleep Mask | Contoured, 13 mm cups | Low-rebound memory foam | Strap 19 to 28 in | Hand wash only | None | $18 |
| Manta SOUND Sleep Mask | Contoured C-cups | Tactel cups, Modal lining, foam and mesh strap | Stretch strap, hook-and-loop, optional top strap | Machine wash cups and strap; wipe speakers | Bluetooth, 24 h battery | $159 |
| Nidra Deep Rest Eye Mask | Contoured, deep molded cups | Memory foam, polyester and microfiber | Hook-and-loop strap, 14 to 26 in | Hand wash, air dry | None | $32 |
| Alaska Bear Silk Sleep Mask | Flat, shaped foam pad | Silk both sides, foam core | Strap size not stated | Machine wash (per listing) | None | $10 |
| MUSICOZY 3D Sleep Headphones Mask | 3D contoured | Memory foam, ice silk lining | One size, 20 to 26.5 in head | Hand or machine wash, speakers removed | Bluetooth, up to 14 h | – |
| Tempur-Pedic TEMPUR-Sleep Mask | Molded foam | TEMPUR foam fill | Elastic strap, hook-and-loop | Spot clean only | None | $29 |
| Slip Pure Silk Sleep Mask | Flat | 22-momme mulberry silk, silk filler | Strap size not stated | Hand wash cold only | None | $72 |
Prices are approximate list prices in USD at the time we checked and change often.
Best overall
by Manta Sleep · $39
Contoured eye cups that slide and tilt to fit your face, an adjustable 73 cm strap and a machine-washable build, with a 60-day money-back guarantee.
Eye cupsContoured O-cups, movable
Best for: Most people who want full darkness without pressure on the eyelids
Best budget
by MZOO · $18
Contoured memory-foam mask with 13 mm eye cups, 22 mm nose padding and a 19 to 28 in strap. The budget take on the Manta idea, sold on Amazon.
Eye cupsContoured, 13 mm cups
Best for: Anyone who wants a contoured blackout mask for under $20
Best sleep headphones
by Manta Sleep · $159
Manta's Bluetooth sleep mask: speakers about 5 mm thick, C-shaped eye cups for side sleepers and a rated 24-hour battery at full volume.
Eye cupsContoured C-cups
Best for: Side sleepers who fall asleep to white noise, podcasts or music
Best for small faces
by Nidra · $32
A 1 oz contoured mask with deep molded eye cups and a hook-and-loop strap for 14 to 26 in heads. Also sold in a smaller size for narrow faces.
Eye cupsContoured, deep molded cups
Best for: Smaller faces and heads, and anyone who wants a light contoured mask
Best silk
by Alaska Bear · $10
Silk on both sides with a shaped foam core and a raised nose curve, for about $10 on Amazon. Machine washable according to the listing.
Eye cupsFlat, shaped foam pad
Best for: People who want a silk mask without paying Slip prices
by MUSICOZY
Budget Bluetooth sleep mask with a 3D contoured shape, memory foam, up to 14 hours of playtime and removable speakers for washing.
Eye cups3D contoured
Best for: Trying sleep headphones without spending Manta SOUND money
by Tempur-Pedic · $29
A mask filled with TEMPUR memory foam that molds to your face, with an elastic hook-and-loop strap. Spot clean only, and all sales are final.
Eye cupsMolded foam
Best for: People who like memory foam against the face and can live with spot cleaning
by Slip · $72
Flat mask in Slip's 22-momme mulberry silk with a silk filler and liner. Soft on skin, but Slip makes no light-blocking claim for it.
Eye cupsFlat
Best for: People who want the feel of silk and already sleep in a dark room
The best sleep mask blocks light at the nose and brow without pressing on your eyelids. Contoured eye-cup masks do this better than flat ones. The Manta sleep mask ($39) ranks first because its cups move to fit your face and it is machine washable. The MZOO (about $18) is the budget take on the same design.
Rankings come from published specs, care instructions, return policies and the research below. No mask on this page was physically tested. Every “100% blackout” claim on this page is the brand’s own, not an independent light measurement. Commission plays no part in the order, and several picks are sold only on Amazon.
Closed eyelids are a filter, not a shutter. Measurements of human eyelids found an average optical density of 2.1 between 450 and 650 nm, which means roughly 1% of light gets through.1 That can be enough to register. In a small lab study (6 adults), an hour of green light shone through closed eyelids at night cut melatonin by 36% to 56% compared with a dark night.2
Room light during sleep also changes the body without waking you. When 10 healthy adults slept one night under 100 lux of overhead light, their nighttime heart rate and next-morning insulin resistance rose compared with 10 adults who slept in under 3 lux. Melatonin did not differ between the groups.3 A mask is the cheapest way to get close to that dim condition when you cannot control the room.
Most trials are in intensive care units, where lights and alarms run all night. A 2021 meta-analysis of 13 randomized trials (797 ICU patients) found eye masks alone improved self-rated sleep quality, with a standardized mean difference of 1.56.4 A Cochrane review was more cautious. It rated the ICU evidence low quality and noted that most studies measuring sleep objectively found no benefit from masks or earplugs.5
In a lab simulation of ICU noise and light, 14 healthy adults given earplugs plus eye masks got more REM sleep, fewer arousals and higher melatonin.6 Masks and earplugs were used together, so the mask’s share is unknown.
The best data in healthy people is a 2023 crossover study. Eighty-nine adults aged 18 to 35 slept with their curtains open during a UK summer, one week with a light-blocking mask and one week without light blocked. With the mask they learned word pairs slightly better (d = 0.19) and reacted faster (d = 0.16) the next day.7 Self-rated sleep quality did not improve in either of the study’s two experiments, and hours slept did not differ. The gains are small but cost little to get.
A flat mask seals by pressing against your face, so it rests on your eyelids and relies on strap tension to close the gap at the nose. Contoured masks use molded foam cups that ring each eye socket and leave room to blink.
The nose bridge is the usual leak. Padding that fills that gap matters more than the face fabric. MZOO lists 22 mm of nose padding, and Alaska Bear adds a raised nose curve to an otherwise flat silk mask.
Silk suits people who dislike foam against the skin. But Slip makes no light-blocking claim for its flat silk mask, and the brand sells separate contour and “blockout” versions for that. If darkness is the goal, choose the shape first and the fabric second.
Sleep headphone masks put thin speakers in the strap so you can play white noise or podcasts while blocking light. Check three things: a battery that outlasts your night, electronics you can remove for washing, and speaker thickness if you sleep on your side.
Manta SOUND lists speakers about 5 mm thick, a 24-hour battery at full volume and auto-off after 30 minutes without audio. The MUSICOZY 3D mask costs far less and lists up to 14 hours of playtime, though its listing is inconsistent on the Bluetooth version. Keep the volume low, since you wear it for hours.
For most people, yes. At $39 the Manta sleep mask gets you cups that slide and tilt to fit different faces, a machine-washable build and a 60-day money-back guarantee. The MZOO costs about half as much with fixed contoured cups, but it is hand wash only. If Manta’s round cups press into the pillow when you lie on your side, the Manta PRO ($85) uses C-shaped cups with tapered edges.
Put the mask on in a lit room, open your eyes and look down. Light at the nose or cheeks means the cups or strap need adjusting. If early dawn wakes you, pair the mask with blackout curtains so the room stays dark if the mask slips off. Our guide on whether blackout curtains help you sleep covers the room side.
Masks earn their keep where you cannot control the light: daytime sleep after a night shift (see shift work sleep), planes and hotel rooms across time zones (see the jet lag guide and jet lag planner), and naps.
If you wake with a sunrise alarm clock, a mask blocks the light that does the waking. Take the mask off when you get up and see the morning sunlight guide for why early light matters. If you have an eye condition or recent eye surgery, ask your eye doctor before wearing anything that sits on or near the eyes. If foam irritates your skin, pick a mask you can wash often.
Bierman A, Figueiro MG, Rea MS. Measuring and predicting eyelid spectral transmittance. J Biomed Opt. 2011;16(6):067011. doi:10.1117/1.3593151 ↩
Figueiro MG, Rea MS. Preliminary evidence that light through the eyelids can suppress melatonin and phase shift dim light melatonin onset. BMC Res Notes. 2012;5:221. doi:10.1186/1756-0500-5-221 ↩
Mason IC, et al. Light exposure during sleep impairs cardiometabolic function. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022;119(12):e2113290119. doi:10.1073/pnas.2113290119 ↩
Fang CS, et al. Effect of earplugs and eye masks on the sleep quality of intensive care unit patients: a systematic review and meta-analysis. J Adv Nurs. 2021;77(11):4321-4331. doi:10.1111/jan.14914 ↩
Hu RF, et al. Non-pharmacological interventions for sleep promotion in the intensive care unit. Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2015;(10):CD008808. doi:10.1002/14651858.CD008808.pub2 ↩
Hu RF, et al. Effects of earplugs and eye masks on nocturnal sleep, melatonin and cortisol in a simulated intensive care unit environment. Crit Care. 2010;14(2):R66. doi:10.1186/cc8965 ↩
Greco V, et al. Wearing an eye mask during overnight sleep improves episodic learning and alertness. Sleep. 2023;46(3):zsac305. doi:10.1093/sleep/zsac305 ↩
For self-rated sleep, mostly yes. A meta-analysis of 13 ICU trials found eye masks improved sleep quality, and in 89 healthy adults a week of mask use gave small gains in next-day memory and alertness. Objective sleep changes are less consistent.
For most people, yes. In the largest healthy-adult study, participants wore a mask every night for a week. Wash it regularly, and if you have an eye condition or recent eye surgery, ask your eye doctor first.
Choose thin-edged or C-shaped cups that do not dig into the pillow. The Manta PRO and Manta SOUND use C-shaped cups, and the MZOO has thin 15-degree curved sides for about $18.
Silk feels smooth on the skin, but a flat silk mask seals by pressing on your face and makes no promise of full darkness. For blocking light, a contoured mask beats a flat one whatever the fabric.
At $39 it adds movable cups, machine washing and a 60-day money-back guarantee over budget contoured masks. If you only want the contoured shape, the MZOO costs about half as much but is hand wash only.
The better ones do. Manta SOUND uses C-shaped contoured cups like the Manta PRO, with speakers about 5 mm thick. Some audio masks are plain headbands without eye cups, so check the listing for a contoured shape.
