At the moment and for up to a few months, we have this…midnight sun! No sunrise, no sunset.
Stockholm is not as light as this because it is not within the arctic circle, but for the next six weeks or so, it will not get dark. At all. You can sit outside and read 24/7. The constant light drives me nuts! Give me the constant darkness in winter any day!
I have venetian blinds, blackout curtains and regular curtains layered in all my windows but I still can’t sleep.
I usually don’t like sleep masks. The ones you get on planes are awful because they shut out the light by means of a plastic sheet covered by thin fabric (if you are lucky – sometimes the plastic sheet goes right against your skin). The plastic means you sweat. They are also a very nebulous one-size-fits-all shape so the light comes in over your nose.
One eye mask I do like is by Tumi (I love their luggage!) because it is well made and the part that goes against your skin is made of soft cloth. There is no plastic in it and it has a flap for your nose so no light sneaks in under there. But the elastic is made for all heads and is way too lose for me, meaning they fall off in the night. I have sewn the elastic tighter but it has begun to perish. I am also not a fan of the mask right against my eyes.
So today I bought a Lipault (oh I do love their nylon bags and suitcases in jewel colours) bra-shaped mask for eyes.
It has fly-shaped goggly eye covers but that means they don’t touch your eyes. The shape is very well designed so no light comes in around your nose. And it has Velcro straps that you can adjust. It is made from neoprene and is very light. Neoprene is also brilliant at dealing with sweat.
I really hope this works!
Excellent choice, Janet! Lipault is a very popular brand here though it’s quite young (their first shop opened less than 10 years ago).
Their luggage and other travel products are very light and rather cheap but great quality.
I haven’t tried those masks yet though l use sleep masks a lot but you have inspired me to go and get one later on today. They seem light and efficient! One will be flying with me tomorrow to Dubaï!!!
Thank you for the idea, Janet!
Well, after my first night with it I can say it was a huge success. It totally blacked out the light and once I figured out where to put the strap (over ears? above ears?) I couldn’t feel it. I imagine if you sleep on your face the edges would dig in a bit but on your side or back you don’t feel it’s there!