The Ostrichpillow Eye Mask Was My Missing Link for Better Naps
I sucked at napping until I tried Ostrichpillow’s blackout sleep mask, which is designed to keep you in total darkness—even with your eyes wide open.
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I have never been a good napper, which is not just a massive inconvenience but kind of… embarrassing? I’m an adult, a tax-paying person who has figured out most other Important Life Stuff, such as owning a good vacuum, installing nice shelves, and occasionally finishing an entire container of spinach. What did I need to master the art of the power nap one and for all?
“Dude, you just need an eye mask,” was the advice from my friends, but I always struggled to find a sleep mask that fully blocked out light. When I nap, I want to be immersed in Vantablack levels of darkness. I’m an anxious sleeper who will fixate on even the smallest flashing charger, and while I loved the feel of classic silk eye masks, there was always a point when the light would creep in, and I would be jolted awake.
Ostrichpillow Blackout Eye Mask
Up until recently, I kept a T-shirt on my bed to wrap over my eyes Bird Box style if I needed to sleep in after a night of going out, to take a power nap during a stressful day, or to immerse myself in darkness to get rid of a migraine. Then, I was served an ad on my iPhone for Ostrichpillow’s “blackout” eye mask. With plenty of high ratings from Amazon reviewers and a price tag of under $50, I was intrigued.
I’ve been a fan of Ostrichpillow for a while, courtesy of its unhinged, but extremely effective napping travel pillow; as the design of the pillow indicates, this is a brand that isn’t afraid to push the limits of sleep apparati to make sure that we, the people, feel more well rested. On the surface, the eye mask doesn’t boast the same Hieronymus Bosch levels of abstraction, but it does have a whole lot of innovation going on underneath the mask.
MaryFrances Knapp.
OK, let’s dive into the specs: This eye mask is made out of six layers of plush, breathable modal fabric that comes in a few colorway options, and it features an adjustable strap. One of my big gripes with traditional sleep masks is the lack of adjustability, so Ostrichpillow’s custom-fit experience already felt way more comfortable on my face than my other sleep masks. Plus, as one Amazon reviewer explained, “I always have a hard time [with] eye masks [because] of my eyelashes,” but this mask has a built-in space for the bridge of the nose and the concaves around your eyes, which meant that I could fully open my eyes while wearing the mask and still be in total darkness. Plus, it’s compatible with most noise-canceling headphones and earplugs, so you can tune out both light and sound whether you’re trying to sleep in your own bed or on a noisy plane.
In short, Ostrichpillow’s eye mask feels like it was specially molded to fit my face—which is wild, given the relatively affordable price point. When I first slipped the mask over my eyes on a hungover morning a few weeks ago, it felt like someone had instantly drawn luxury blackout shades in my entire bedroom. So, if you, your S.O., or that weird Uncle you have to get a gift for is a finicky sleeper, I can’t recommend this blackout sleep mask enough to feel completely and totally immersed in Slumber Town.
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