gear · 7 picks
Dark, quiet, and bright light at the right hour. Every plan on this site asks for those three things and none of the calculators can pack them for you. These are the products we would own: one essential and one premium pick per job, no filler.
SleepTools earns a commission on purchases made through the Amazon links on this page, at no extra cost to you. Prices are the US list price when last checked and change often.
Hotel curtains leak and a 5 am sunrise does not care about your plan. A contoured mask is the cheapest fix on this page and the one most people skip.
Contoured foam cups, so nothing presses on your eyelids.
The best-rated contoured mask under ten dollars. The moulded nose bridge closes the gap flat masks leave, which is exactly where hotel light gets in. If you buy one thing on this page, buy this.
View on Amazon →
Light-blocking sleep mask with a face-hugging fit and lash clearance.
Loop's sleep mask. Softer, cooler and better sealed than the budget cups, and it packs flat in the case. Worth it if you fly more than a few times a year or sleep in the day after a night shift.
View on Amazon →Corridors, snoring, a city that starts early. Reusable silicone plugs seal better than foam, survive a wash, and are comfortable on your side.
Soft silicone earplugs, 24 dB SNR, reusable and washable.
Reusable, comfortable on your side, and quiet enough for a hotel corridor or a snoring seat neighbour. Four tip sizes in the box, so they fit. The one pair of earplugs that covers travel and shift work.
View on Amazon →
Silicone and memory foam earplugs, 27 dB SNR, made for sleep.
Loop's dedicated sleep plug. The foam-silicone tips seal better than silicone alone and the flat profile disappears against a pillow. Buy these over the Quiet 2 if snoring is the problem you are solving.
View on Amazon →Bright light at the right hour moves your clock faster than anything else in the plan. Outdoors is best. When the sun is not up when you need it, a lamp does the job at home and the glasses do it on the road. Both lamps are Wirecutter's picks.
A 10,000 lux LED panel the size of a tablet, with a timer and a stand that doubles as a wall mount.
Wirecutter's budget pick and the only lamp here that fits in a carry-on. You have to sit close, about six inches for the full dose, so it works at a hotel desk but not from across a kitchen. Half an inch thick.
View on Amazon →
The big one: 10,000 lux at 12 inches from a large, glare-free face that tilts down over you.
Wirecutter's top pick for years, for one reason: it gives the full dose at a normal sitting distance, so the morning session actually happens. Too big to travel with. Buy it for home, for winter, and for the days after a run of night shifts.
View on Amazon →
Wearable light therapy glasses, so the morning light session happens while you move.
The lamps above do not travel and need you to sit still. These sit on your nose while you pack, eat or answer email, so the plan's light windows stop being a chore you skip. The pick for frequent flyers.
View on Amazon →The jet lag calculator tells you when to be in the dark and when to be in the light for your route. The Land Ready kit is the printed plan for the nights after you land. The night shift sleep schedule uses the same three things to sleep in the day.
Product photos are the makers' own. Retailer links open Amazon.com in a new tab, for example www.amazon.com/dp/B0CRYX3FCZ, with a SleepTools affiliate tag added.
Educational information, not medical advice. Consult a healthcare provider for sleep disorders or before taking any supplement.