This simple sleep hack can help unlock greater brain power: study

If you struggle to feel rested after sleep, you may benefit from this shuteye accessory.

Wearing an eye mask to sleep will help you feel more alert the next day, according to a study published in the journal Sleep.

Researchers found that the simple hack of blocking out as much light as possible will boost the sleeper’s alertness the following day.

Sources of ambient light that could be playing a role include electronics, sunlight or street lamps.

Experts from Cardiff University conducted two series of experiments involving a total of 124 volunteers between the ages of 18 and 35, asking them to wear eye masks to bed for several nights, followed by the same number of nights without a mask. Participants were also charged with keeping sleep diaries to record their experience with and without the masks and completed the work at their respective homes — ensuring that results reflected real-life sleeping scenarios.

Following the trials, participants took three different tests after waking to measure brain power. They revealed that people performed better on cognitive and reaction time exercises during the week they wore eye masks.

However, the eye masks had no effect on a third test to examine motor-skill learning.

Results furthermore showed no difference in the amount or quality of sleep while wearing eye masks compared to not; only the positive effects on next-day grogginess were observed.

Study author Viviana Greco, a PhD candidate at Cardiff, said in a statement that wearing an eye mask could be an “effective and inexpensive solution” to improving alertness and work performance.

“The implications of our results are significant on many daytime tasks like driving a car or any educational or cultural context that requires learning,” Greco told PsyPost.

The team hypothesized that the masks helped sleepers spend more time in the deepest phase of sleep, also referred to as slow-wave sleep, which is believed to be important for processing new information and strengthening memory.

Researchers note that eye makes may be particularly helpful during the summer when the sun rises as earlier as the 4 a.m. hour.

“As sleep scientists, we understand the importance of getting enough sleep, and waking up at 4 a.m. every day was not ideal,” said Greco, who was inspired to launch the study after moving to a home without window shutters.