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The Secret to Better Memory and Alertness: Sleeping with an Eye Mask
New research reveals the surprising benefits of wearing an eye mask during sleep.
Sleep is essential for maintaining optimal physical and mental health. Getting enough restorative sleep helps with emotional regulation and stress management. In addition, it plays a critical role in memory consolidation and cognitive function. Now, a new study suggests that wearing an eye mask while sleeping can significantly improve memory encoding and increase alertness the following day.
The research, published in the Journal of Sleep Research (2023), focused on the effects of total darkness during sleep on memory encoding and daytime alertness. The study involved a diverse group of participants who were asked to sleep in a controlled environment for a week, with half wearing an eye mask and the other half sleeping without any sleep aid.
Memory Encoding and Sleep
Participants were given a series of memory tasks to measure memory encoding before and after their sleep sessions. The results showed that those who wore an eye mask while sleeping significantly improved memory encoding compared to their counterparts who slept without an eye mask.
