Me vs The Light!

[BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation]

No, I haven't gone over to The Dark Side, but I do need it to be dark to sleep and my estate is lit up like Wembley Stadium 😖 there's also lights from a factory shining over and the people in a nearby house have a massive security light which is shining even though there's a streetlight right opposite their house. We don't even live in a high crime area.

We have a blackout blind and curtains, but the light still manages to creep in around the edges. The cat also likes to sit on the windowsill and watch outside at all hours so I can't have the blind fully down.

Another streetlight opposite our house was bothering both us and our neighbour, so I managed to get into the control panel and switch it off. I'm fighting a losing battle though. I can't wear an eye mask overnight.

Why do people have to have it so bright all the time?

Oh, yes, sympathies. I've got blackout curtains and I've put a scarf along the top of the curtain pole to stop seepage on the top but I haven't found a solution for the sides.

Could you maybe knock up a system like a 4 poster bed so you block out the light from your bed with a second set of curtains if you can't use a face mask?

There's versions where you can suspend curtain rails above the bed without the 4 beams which could potentially be cheaper than a 4 poster bed. Just a suggestion...

Could you stand to wear an eye-mask / sleep mask thingy? DP kindly got me a silk one for a Christmas some years back and it is so useful.

Like you our estate is lit up like a Christmas tree - no one needs that much lighting, nobody walks round here at night, but no, we also have people lighting up the fronts of their houses too - so in Coastal Scotland where the stars should be visible, the light pollution is dreadful.

I know you mentioned you can't wear an eyemask, but have you tried a silk sleep mask (as opposed to man-made fabrics)?

I got one from Blissy (along with a silk pillowcase, because it would appear that autism + perimenopause has turned me into a super-sensory princess ) and, holy hell, it is life-changing.

Lovely and soft, lightweight (so not 'heavy' or horribly claustrophobic), the band around your head is very comfortable and not too tight, and it blocks light very effectively.

Not to derail, but I actually really dislike blackout blinds / curtains - they make me feel very disengaged and I hate the feeling of not knowing roughly what time of day it is.

(Sorry, OP, that was a derailment. Apologies.)

I don't like the blackout stuff either. I'd prefer to awake with natural dawn light. I also like moonlight and I used to love lying on the bed with the moonlight coming into the room.

Everything is so horrible and artificial now 😠

I dunno whether I can face wearing a mask.

I'm another one who hates blackout blinds/curtains, but I love the total absence of ambient light and light pollution.

I'd love to live somewhere so remote that the only light at night was from the moon and stars. Wishful thinking!

There are times when it just doesn't seem to get dark anymore. I'm dreading when the clocks change from GMT to BST. I can kiss sleep goodbye then

I've tried loads of different types of masks but they make me feel as though I'm suffocating.

I've cut a square out of the blind so the cat can see out.

You can see one of the factory lights. There's three of them and they're really powerful.

I have a streetlight glaring into my window so blackout curtains are the only way I can get my room reasonably dark. For half the year it's dark when I get up anyway so the lack of dawn light is only really missed between the vernal and autumnal equinoxes.

I hate this too- the world seems to be getting brighter at night time. We have a street light outside our bedroom window, so I have blackout curtains then put things against the edges to push the curtains against the side of the window if that makes sense. My ironing board holds one side flush to the wall, and a pile of 'stuff' that needs putting away holds the other one flush! Its the only way I get any sleep. Moonlight is lovely but its drowned out here by the glare from electric lights!

This is how much light there is outside the window 😖

@BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation

I've cut a square out of the blind so the cat can see out.

I love this, though.

😄😄😄 as long as the cat's happy!

I’d have a word with your local authority. There are light pollution regulations in some areas.

www.gov.uk/guidance/artificial-light-nuisances-how-councils-deal-with-complaints

I wondered about contacting the council. I'm sure the factory lights are brighter than last year.

Definitely do and if you can get some neighbours onboard too that might help.

We are far too accepting of lightnpoll.

When you say that you cannot wear a mask, is it the band, or the actual covering of your eyes.? I cannot cope with a band around my head, no matter how soft - BUT I have a (small) black silk scarf that I just sort of drape over my eyes. It is lovely and cool and seems to stay in place so easily.

Lights outside your window is horrid, I sympathise..... There really does seem to be no true darkness nowadays.

My black scarf works well for me, and I go to sleep with the TV on.

But I hardly move, so the scarf helps, and stays in place.

I don't think I could handle the band and I toss and turn quite a bit as well as being a stomach sleeper so it would probably come off. I also can't wake up by being in darkness.

@BarrowInFurnessRailwayStation

Bloody hell, that photo of all the lights outside looks like Blackpool illuminations 😱😱😱😱😱

I know, it's horrendous.

Is moving house an option?

I’m not being funny and obviously the answer could be no for many reasons. But sometimes we don’t take our needs seriously enough, particularly when we’re hiding out in a world that doesn’t take us seriously.

So I’m sort of (stranger on the internet) giving you permission in case you need a push to put yourself first.

And sorry if it’s a crashingly insensitive thing to say.

That is ridiculously bright. Would a completely blacked out room plus a sunrise alarm clock help with both sleep and waking up? Or is it possible to rejig the rooms in your house so a different room is your bedroom?

Start by asking every single one to move the direction of their lights. I had a neighbours security one lighting up my entire kitchen, I didn't need to switch my kitchen light on to cook it was that bad. He angled it downwards slightly so it lights up his actual garden instead of me. He didn't realise until I made him come outside and look. Definitely worth it with the factory lights. Some lights come with a cover to stop the 180 degree leakage, making it more 100 degree. Just show them photos so they can see how it impacts you.

We can't move as we don't have the energy left for anything 😄

It's mainly the factory that's bothering me. I can't talk to the neighbour as their light can't be angled.

Maybe I could email the factory. They'll just laugh at me though.