In 2014, my husband and I decided to take a road trip to Norway. For many years I listened to the stories of my hippie uncle who, during the legendary 70s, toured Scandinavia by hitchhiking. He told me about lunar landscapes, endless green fields and nights without darkness. Caught by these stories, we decided to take this trip during a rainy summer. It was the moment when, more than ever, I understood the importance of darkness when you sleep. In the north pole, in summertime, the sun never sets and the houses often have neither roller shutters nor blackout curtains. Result: pure insomnia.

In Italy, this problem does not exist because every house, from the oldest to the most modern, is equipped with shutters that create, even during the day, a night effect that reconciles sleep.

When we moved to Hong Kong, I began to fear the lack of darkness because, still without blinds, I kept waking up at unspecified times, often immediately after dawn. It was then that I thought of using silk masks for sleeping.

On the one hand, the soft and smooth texture of pure mulberry silk silk improves the skin at night, making our eyes less tired and with less dark circles. Furthermore, the light does not pass; therefore, we can sleep peacefully even without shutters until lunch time.

In addition to this, as mentioned by the Division of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School, we all have “light sensitive” cells in the retina of our eyes and they tell the brain when it’s daytime or nighttime and determines our sleep patterns.

For example, if you’re normally early to bed but become exposed to light, you’re not going to fall asleep at your normal time and could miss out on the benefits of sleeping early. A study has also been carried out by some Chinese researchers investigating whether sleep masks affect your sleep. The research indicated that the use of sleep masks and ear plugs led to more deeper quality sleep, that was less disrupted, with elevated melatonin levels. Sleeping in total darkness allows your body to secrete as much melatonin as possible.

Therefore, the consistency of silk bed sheets, together with the benefits of wearing a silk eye mask and the choice of a pure luxury hypoallergenic pillows are characteristics that improve our well-being ... but also our mood. You just have to try!