Mindfold Relaxation and Blackout Sleeping Mask, Total Darkness with Your Eyes Open.

I often work late nights and need to sleep past sunrise, which in my area can be as early as 2:20 a.m. in the summer!I got this to replace an old sleep mask that was sadly no longer being made, and found that this one was even superior to my old standby. I really can't say enough about it, and this is after using it daily for three years, traveling with it, and even running it through the occasional wash cycle! (It can come apart during washing, but is easily glued or pressed back together).But what makes this mask really special and effective, is that it not only blocks out all light (the first mask I've ever used to do that 100%), but also allows you to keep your eyes open. Now, uhm, I don't keep my eyes open while I sleep! But the point is, there is no actual pressure of any kind on your eyelids, like most or all other sleep masks. This makes for a totally comfortable night's rest, or just a moment to "duck out of it all" for example on a plane, while meditating, or whatever, because when adjusted right it provides total blackness.It also does an amazing job of helping me sleep when I have those seemingly endless moments of insomnia. When your eyes are open, but it's pitch dark all around you and you're lying down, it's amazing how fast your body gets the hint and signals your brain to sleep. So that's helpful as well: it makes me sleepy, then keeps me asleep by blocking out early morning light, or the eerie glow of all our modern electronic gizmos.When my old standby sleep mask went out of production, and mine had worn out, I tried a big handful of sleep masks via Amazon, searching in frustration for something that worked and helped me stay asleep. I almost passed on this one, because of the gimmicky name on the front. But I'm glad I took the plunge, as this mask is by far the best and the only one that is 100% effective, AND doesn't put pressure on my eyelids.I can't recommend it enough. Hope it works for you just as well as it works for me.

Works well, total darkness! I am using to protect my eyelash extensions in bed at night, works great.

This is a great eye mask for relaxing the mind. The MindFold was actually created to be a sensory deprivation tool used for meditation. Hence the name "Mind"+"Fold". It's designed for relaxing the mind. This is how I use it. I do not sleep with it. So I cannot comment on it's use as a sleep mask.Here's a quick rundown of the pros and cons.Pros:* Capable of 100% light blockage* The foam is soft* The stretchable headband's Velcro doesn't connect at the back of the head* There's so much eye room depth, my eyelashes (which are long) don't even slightly touch itCons:* While very deep, the eye cutouts could be a little wider* Light leakage can happen if it slides a little while using it* Needs to be fairly tight to totally prevent light leakageI've tried dozens of similar eye masks, the only other eye mask that I've tried that's a close second is the Bedtime Bliss. I have heard that the Tempur-Pedic Sleep Mask is the only eye mask that's as effective, but I've not tried that yet.Compared to the Bedtime Bliss, this is capable of blocking out all light, while the Bedtime Bliss only blocks about 90-95% of the light. For both me and my wife, the Bedtime Bliss had a large amount of light leakage near the nose, no matter how it was positioned or tightened. We have very different noses. My nose is large and pointy, hers is wide and short. The problem with the Bedtime Bliss is that, while it contours to a "human" face, it will only properly contour to a certain percentage of people, and for the rest of us, it just doesn't work right, but it is still much better than most of the other masks I've tried, except for the Mindfold.I have read complaints about the fact that the Mindfold is just a Velcro headband, attached to a flexible plastic eye shield, with foam glued to it. This is in fact what it is, but it is very effective nonetheless. The design is simple and it works very well.The Mindfold's thick foam contours to just about any face very effectively. That's why it works so well to block out light. While it's not memory foam like the Tempur-Pedic Sleep Mask is, the foam still works quite well for it's purpose. It would work with less force needed if it was made of the more expensive memory foams available. But that would jack up the price considerably.The Velcro strap is not a cheap strap. It's high quality stretchable Velcro. The strap is better quality than most. The Bedtime Bliss has a lower quality strap, and it is not replaceable. The Bedtime Bliss strap joins at the back of the head, so you always feel a lump on the back of your head when you lay your head flat on a pillow. The MindFold's strap is replaceable, so I could put a different strap if I wanted to. Also, it joins on the side, and not on the back, so you don't feel a lump at the back on your head. If you lay down with the back of your head on a pillow, it's very comfortable. You don't even notice the strap. Not so with the Bedtime Bliss. That's something I hate about the Bedtime Bliss.The flexible plastic eye shield is thin. You can easily flex it with your hands. This is intentional, and not done to be cheap, as some have suggested. It needs to be thin, so it can flex just enough to contour to your face to a certain degree. If it was a thick inflexible piece of plastic, it wouldn't work as well because it then wouldn't contour to different face shapes and sizes.I have heard complaints that the MindFold is not useful for side sleepers. I could definitely see that being the case. However, that is not it's intended use.Bottom line, this is one of the most effective light blocking eye masks you can find. If you're looking for a mask that completely blocks out light, that lets you open your eyes without your lashes touching it, then this is a great buy. The Tempur-Pedic Sleep Mask is also a viable solution, according to many other sources, but it costs 3 times as much. Nearly all of the other eye masks let in light. But if you're looking for a sleep mask for a side sleeper, try something else.