Did you install or already have black bedroom curtains and do they help you sleep?

We don’t have black curtains, but our bedroom curtains have very thick lining in, and they keep the light out well. If I sleep anywhere else, I never sleep as well, as you really notice the light.

Thanks, @LBM . I had curtains once with something like plastic lining that were ok but not as helpful. Welcome to Fluther.

I put up black curtains to keep the damned sun out of the house and reduce our energy bill. It helps my husband sleep later in the day on his days off. My circadian rhythm is too strong, and I’m solar-powered whether the light is blocked or not.

Both Setanta and I seem to be able to sleep under any set of conditions. I’ve fallen asleep sitting on a kitchen chair (no arms on the chair) on a deck in bright sunshine. I do like it to be dark but I won’t be put off by light. Definitely different from when I was a kid and the slightest sound/bit of light would torment me when I was trying to sleep.

I have opaque shades, that helps a lot. I am a very light sleeper, and even ambient neighborhood nighttime light sources can wake me up.

I’m a poor sleeper and have a street lamp on my property facing my upstairs bedroom, so a thick curtain is a must. It’s not black but it keeps out the light pretty well. The cutain is split down the middle, and if I neglect to close the two sides or blinds completely the bit of light that sneaks through is blinding.

Nope, I always have sheer curtains and just deal with waking up at daybreak in the summers. haha I have not had neighbors close enough to look in for years. Right now I have sheer, see through, turquoise bedroom curtains and yes, I wake up at sunrise every day. I’m a light lover, I figure I will be in the dark for eternity after I am dead, I like light, bright rooms.

Ours are not black, but were specially rated to block light. We supplement them with eye masks.

I use a mask.

I put up some very dark, heavy maroon curtains and they keep light out very well. During the day, it puts a pleasant, dim red glow in the room. I think it’s pleasant. Rick says it looks like a whore house! But at night, it’s pitch black and I sleep much better now.

My bedroom curtains are a sheer white cotton and the sunlight gets in. I rely on the sun to wake up as I don’t use an alarm clock.

When I sleep in hotels, I use the blackout curtains and they help me to sleep.

I had a piece of foam cut to size that seals out all light when stuck in the bedroom window. Works very well. Went from lots off annoying light pollution to able to be completely black. Also reduces noise. Also reduces ventilation, which isn’t so good.

Yes. There is a scientificly proven correlation between light and sleep. I live in the deep south in America, and this time of year it is routinely close to 100 ° f , with above 70 -80% humidity. He’ll it was 80 on Christmas day last year. Itll be hotter still in a month.I keep my windows in my bedroom completely blacked out with aluminum foil and thick curtains. The aluminum foil keeps the window light tight, and reflects some of the direct sunlight and heat. And I keep my A/C running like a sled dog. Maybe I was a cave man in a former life .I love a cold dark place to relax.

@jca I don’t use an alarm clock either. Looks like we are the only two sheer girls here that wake with the sun. :-)
Actually, I am house sitting tonight through Weds. night and my room here, in this huge house, has nice wood blinds that when closed backwards keeps the sun out well. I might actually go to bed about 8:30 tonight because it will be dark enough.

I don’t wake with the sun, but I wake at about the same time every morning, about 8 a.m. I actually have an internal alarm that is very good. I just have to tell myself what time to wake up in the morning, and that’s when I wake up.

@Coloma: I wake with the sun, too, I don’t close my bedroom door and the light from the sun into the bathroom and hallway get me up. Except in the winter, then I’m up way the hell before dawn. I like the early morning. :-)

I like the early morning too…when I finally wake up enough to appreciate it which takes about 30 minutes. Before that it’s grumble, grumble, crap, shit, hell, I wanna go back to bed

I cover my eyes and sleep much better. Sometimes with a black ski cap in the winter. Otherwise with a dark t-shirt or towel.

For a a couple of months I lived with covered windows and I hated it. I lived next to L train, and the previous tenant blocked out the windows with styrofoam and cloth against the noise.

I blacked out my widows with cardboard when I worked swing shifts. Made all the difference

I am with you on this one as I have room darkening shades in my bedroom and put electrical tape over every red LED light on everything that glows in the dark in the room.

You can get “blackout” curtains in many colors and patterns pre-made, or you can have them made custom of course. They’re awesome. A dark room does give me a better sleep. I don’t have them, but I don’t need them where I live. I bought them for my aunt and they made a huge difference.

In hotels they use blackout “curtains” usually behind the sheers on the window. I love that set up. I’d like to get a pretty sheer with blackout behind for when I need to darken the room.

As far as blinds, some blinds lay very flat and minimize light coming through. The salesperson should know which are best. It partly has to do with how the blinds are strung together.

I have had dark curtains for years, with venetian blinds. My wife also like a “Wave” machine for blocking sounds and noises.

At 63 degrees north you bet I do but they don’t do much for me. I seem to sense the light out so this time of year is hell when I’m working and have to get on a bus at 7.10.

@cazzie – One of my favourite suspense thrillers is a Norwegian film starring Stellan Skarsgård. Insomnia – It uses the midnight sun as a representation of the detective’s guilt over accidentally shooting his partner. But the sheer amount of trouble he goes through to find a dark place to sleep is torturous.

Really good film. Christopher Nolan did a remake with Robin Williams and Al Pacino. They’re both good for different reasons, but I prefer the original.

When I worked 3rd shift, I also worked on a like that used sheet mylar that came on big rolls. Some of us tried putting it on the windows (like winterizing) and it worked perfectly!

In full sun, you could peer through the mylar and see what was going on outside akin to watching a TV with ‘snow’. Conbined with normal curtains, it was dark and energy efficient. There is generally a shiny and dark (or not so shiny) side, so you don’t have to worry about your neighbors freaking over the “tin foil on the windows” look – aluminum foil being another excellent, cheap, easy way yo block the sunlight.

Mylar is available in rolls and sheets in the giftwrap section.

Another cheap, DIY sun block for a window is sheet foam insulation.
Cut it to fit the window opening exactly with a large serrated knife and push into place and close the curtains. If you’re worried about the outside appearance, paint the out-facing side a dark color before placing.

BTY, this also works for ill fitting doors that are exposed to outdoor temperatures or drafts. I had an interior, wood, door that opened into basement that was actually under a non-enclosed porch. I opened the door and cut a plug out of 2–3” insulation and shoved it into place. I could remove it if I had to, and it totally stopped the wind and cold.
You could do the same for an attic. If the door is in a visible spot, pull the pins and remove the door completely first, then paint the insulation before you place it.

It isn’t just the dark place to ‘sleep’, but there is no wind-down with outside getting darker at a ‘normal’ time. I’ll sit typing in my living room/kitchen and look out my beautiful picture windows onto the fjord and not look at the clock…. suddenly, it’s 11pm.

Do you know about “Smart windows @cazzie?

Electrochromic Glass: Instant Darkening

I like my view. Have you seen it? I post pictures on facebook all the time of how it changes. This past weekend, the light outside went completely orange and I looked up to see that it had started pouring with rain with the sun setting in the distance. Each rain drop reflected the light from the setting sun, turning the atmosphere orange. It was other-worldly.

But, I think you can get glass that mimics what would be natural darkening at another time of year, @cazzie.
No, I have not seen your view.

It’s too late to edit my answer above, but to answer your question, @Aster, “Yes, I slept much better with the room darkened.”
Although I eventually got accustomed to sleeping in the day, darkening the room certainly helped in the early days of working 11–7.

I have no trouble sleeping anywhere no matter what the lighting or noise. I also wake up at exactly the time I choose without an alarm.

Blackout blinds work too well for me! The room gets dark and I can pretend it’s night and I fall right asleep at basically any time of day, something I can’t do otherwise… and then I just sort of stay asleep until some sound (or my dog) wakes me up. I guess body totally relies on light to wake up… and the gradual light from dawn is much gentler to me than the sudden ON of my overhead lights or of cracking open the blinds. I find the sudden ON too jarring…

I’m with those who prefer dark rooms for sleeping soundly. If you think that you were able to sleep better because of how dark the room was, then please consider that it has very little to do with the color of the window treatments but other factors.

The hotel company I worked for (25 years) did constant surveys of customers’ comfort. Based upon their feedback, standards were continually changed after research and beta-testing. The process and results were fascinating.

@Aster, in your case of sleeping more soundly, there are several factors that might have come into play: utter exhaustion, less light, less noise, the comfort of the mattress and/or other bedding, the temperature of the room, feeling safe. There is one other factor that may come into play. There are some people who sleep better when sharing a bed with their partner and some that don’t.