Infrared night mask or LED mask: It's not the same product

An LED mask is an electronic device. It contains diodes, it recharges, it turns on and off, and it works in short sessions, generally lasting ten to thirty minutes, with your eyes closed beneath the mask.

The wavelengths used are in the visible red spectrum, around 630 to 660 nanometres, and in the near infrared, around 850 nanometres. This is very close to the light that you see. These devices are mostly intended for facial skin care, and are worn during sessions, not overnight.

The prices observed on this market vary widely, ranging from a few tens of euros for entry-level models to several hundred euros for devices sold in perfume shops or salons.

The LED mask is made for that. The infrared night mask does not replace it, it doesn't do the same thing.

That is the domain of the night mask. The LED mask is not worn while sleeping, and anyway you would need to add a blackout feature to it.

A passive textile does not recharge, does not light up and emits no active radiation. That is a criterion that matters to many people, and rightly so.

A textile can be folded, slipped into a bag and requires no plug. A device does not.

Blinking is a reflex, and it has a specific function: to remoistise the surface of the eye and spread the tear film over it. Blinking less often therefore means having less need to do so. It is also a measurement and not a statement, since the reflex cannot be decided upon. The p-value of less than 0.001 is simply read as: in this group, a difference of this magnitude had virtually no chance of being due to chance.

These glands, located within the thickness of the eyelid, produce the oily layer of the tear film, the one that slows down its evaporation between blinks. This is the second parameter examined in an ocular comfort assessment.

Twenty people, an advanced age group, sixty days, and work that has not yet been published in a peer-reviewed journal. This points the way, it does not demonstrate, and it says nothing about what you, yourself, will get.

Complete darkness is immediate, right from the first night, and requires no study to be observed. As for the rest, your smartwatch measures your heart rate variability during the night: thirty nights before, thirty nights after. That is the only data that pertains to you.

Does an infrared mask heat up during the night?

No. Far infrared in the 3 to 20 micrometres range is not a heating infrared. You do not feel any particular warmth, and the fabric remains breathable.

Should you plug in an infrared sleep mask?

No. There is no battery, cable or plug. The mask works solely using the infrared that your body already emits.

Can you use an LED mask and a sleep mask?

Yes, since they are not used at the same time. One is worn during sessions, the other while sleeping. They do not replace each other.

After how long do you observe something?

The comfort of the darkness is immediate, from the very first night. As for the rest, the study cited above looked at 60 days of use. We recommend allowing at least thirty consecutive nights to pass before judging.

How to measure an effect on recovery yourself?

If you wear a smartwatch, your nocturnal heart rate variability is the most accessible indicator. Note your two-week average before, then for two weeks after. This is your measurement, not ours, and that is what makes it useful.

Does a silk sleep mask do the same thing?

Quality silk blocks out the light and remains comfortable to wear. It does not re-emit far-infrared radiation towards the skin, as it does not contain a layer of metal oxides. It is a perfectly valid choice if darkness is your only objective.