curtains

 

The Best Blackout Curtains

As a Wirecutter staff writer, I focus on making the bedroom comfortable and functional so you can get the best sleep. I co-wrote our guides to sheets and bed pillows, and I’ve written much of our other bedding coverage, including guides to blankets and duvet covers. I’ve also personally shopped for blackout curtains because I’m married to a light-sensitive sleeper.

Our experts told us that most people would benefit from a darker room while they sleep. Whether you need total blackness or just a very dark room depends on your own reaction to light. “Individuals differ in their sensitivity to light, so I don’t think one answer fits everyone,” Siegel at UCLA told us. But for shift workers who sleep during the day, Manber from Stanford said total darkness is essential.

Many manufacturers say their blackout curtains will help insulate drafty windows and reduce noise, but we didn’t focus on these factors or test for them. If your windows are letting in a lot of cold air or noise, curtains will only marginally help. We cover a few other measures you can take to block light and noise from the bedroom (such as weatherstripping windows and doors) here.