do you sleep in the complete dark?

[MeatPeatCeat]

as in no light whatsoever

Light doesn't bother me unless it's an abrupt change e.g. my partner's phone screen suddenly lighting up, or a sliver of hall light around the door if someone turns it on on the middle of the night.

Similarly I can handle noise as long as it's constant, so I sleep with a fan on year round.

As dark as possible.

I hate when hotel rooms have stupid digital lighting and end up hanging clothes on them to try and black them out.

We have a night light as our dog sleeps in our room and he’s not been well and likes a small light .

I’m not frightened of the dark per se, but being profoundly deaf I do not like to sleep in the pitch black. My aids go off at night as they should. It’s too much like dual sensory loss to wake up not seeing and not hearing anything. If I wake up and can’t see, I’m rigid with terror, because I fear the loss of my sight above all else.

I sleep with a tiny nightlight - a little glow stick that is charged by solar or electric light and gives off a gentle little light that’s just enough not to be distracting, but enough for me to see just a little by. It travels with me wherever I go, a great little buy from an outdoor shop somewhere.

DH switches on the little light on his watch near his face if we’re awake, and he needs to tell me something such as he’s heard a funny noise/he’s making a cuppa and do I want one too?

He can fall asleep in a lit room, no problem. His head hits the pillow and that’s it! So I can read without disturbing him . . .

@Floralnomad that reminds me of my family dog. She slept in the hall and had a period where she seemed to have something like night terrors. My parents decided to try leaving the dimmed porch light on for her, which emitted a soft glow through the window, and she settled after that.

I have a diffuser on beside my bed. Not in diffuser mode but I set the light to be on. Different colours depending on mood. I have blackout curtains , but used to keep them open sometimes before I started using the diffuser light. It comforts me.

No I need a lightnight on.

Ex used to sleep in complete darkness and the number of times I fell off the bed or walked into the wall was unreal. Hence much swearing. I like to see where I'm going if I need the loo in the middle of the night.

Yes must have total darkness.

Not complete darkness, a little street light filters in through the curtains, also through the bathroom window. I usually get up in the night to go to the loo so don't like it being totally black.

If this is a concern you should actually be in darkness. My husband pointed this out to me as I liked having a light on too, but his theory is that your eyes have already adjusted to the dark so you're at an advantage over someone coming into a dark environment. You'll be able to see, they won't (if it's dark). Plus they're in an unfamiliar place, having a light on just makes it easy for them.

No, my son is hearing impaired so he doesn’t like pitch black as he can’t rely on his hearing, as he ends up in our bed most nights we let a small amount of light into the room. We have blackout blinds, but the light is on in the bathroom, so the light coming through the catflap is just enough to be able to see to walk around the room once your eyes have adjusted.

Yes, as far as possible! DH has glow in the dark watch faces and hates it when I turn them upside down or shove them in a drawer. I put duct tape on the little indicator light on our integrated smoke alarm unit in our bedroom too (just a tiny square over the light). That's the light that always gets me whenever we stay in a hotel room like a Premier Inn, too 🙈

Can't sleep unless it's dark we have blackout blinds in our room and the kids room.

No, I sleep with my curtains open and I frequently light a small candle, especially when my husband is away.

No. I would have a full on panic attack if I couldn’t see some light, I am obviously not “scared of the dark” in the sense of thinking something bad will happen, pitch blackness just totally freaks me out. I need to check the light situation before bedtime if I am staying anywhere else too.

Complete darkness but I know where the light is (bathroom on low). Because of the monsters.

I cannot STAND silence. White noise or fan.

WTF not an actual candle? Scared of the dark but not the fire risk?

Yes. Blackout blinds, door shut.

Only light is from the video monitor for youngest DC.

Can't sleep if it's not dark.

I've also trained all DC to sleep in the pitch black too.

Yes, total darkness. I prefer white noise from a fan but ds1 has commandeered if for his room.

I live in Spain. We have amazing roller shutters that completely block out any light

You leave the TV on all night?!

Until it turns itself off.. then if I wake up I'll put it back on. It started when my 5 year old was born, I had such bad insomnia and any tiny noise would wake me up, the constant low TV sound drowned it out

Yes but my 'blackout curtains' aren't completely black out so natural daylight in the morning.
Far worse for me is having to share a bedroom ... DH and I happily sleep separately but on the vary rare occasions we go away together and have to share I really don't sleep well. And I hate having to share a bedroom if I go away with a friend.

Yes! I need complete darkness and complete silence otherwise I can't sleep! My eyelids are crap because they can detect the slightest hint of light when shut 🫠

Complete darkness, eye mask and white noise for me.
My ex husband used to insist on the blinds/curtains being open even in summer when it's light at 4am. Reason #246 why I left him.