If you hold the importance of your sleep close, you’re probably more than familiar with the various different types of eye masks. Whether they’re contoured, or smooth as silk, the structure of your mask contributes greatly to your nighttime experience. But sometimes, blocking out the bright world outside isn’t quite enough, and nobody would blame you for seeking out something with a little more push. Released just in time to coincide with our annual October Sleep Month, we’d love to introduce the newest member of our Eye Mask family - SMUG’s Natural Clay Bead Hot & Cold Therapy Eye Mask.

Indeed, our latest release is far more therapy-focussed than its highly popular predecessors, and as a form of weighted Eye Mask, this product will offer the wearer far more tangible benefits upon awakening. Filled with beads of natural clay, the mask can be either heated or cooled, but thanks to clay’s relatively usual thermal conductivity and retention levels, the experience will never prove too unbearable, but rather being, as our beloved Goldilocks would put it, just right!

The applied weight of these clay balls within the mask itself is where the magic happens; and if you suffer from terrible sinusitis, tension headaches or puffy eyes, you’re going to love the fact that these weighted masks are entirely capable of offering a remedy towards this. Heat has been well documented for its capabilities of relieving excess pressure and improving lymphatic drainage, whilst the chilly touch of cold is bound to sweep away inflammation; soothing tired, worn out eyes.

Aside from these brilliant benefits, a Clay Bead Eye Mask is extremely capable in many other ways too. Known simply as Deep Pressure Stimulation, the evenly distributed weight of the beads upon the face and eye area offers a similar sensation to a hug, and has been proven to induce immediate relaxation. This push against the skin reduces the wearer’s flight or fight response, by sending signals to the brain that relieves alertness and anxiety; just what you need when on the verge of a good night’s sleep! On top of this, the weight of the mask alone will block out any unwanted streaks of light when worn, stimulating the production of Melatonin; the all important hormone that’s responsible for inducing deep and healthy sleep. This hormone only comes out in the dark, which is why it goes hand in hand with a mask that offers total darkness.

But when you’ve finally got your lucky hands on your very own SMUG Natural Clay Bead Eye Mask, how can you reap such amazing benefits for yourself? Well if you’re feeling in need of a warm embrace, just place the mask in a microwave for 30 seconds at a time, until your desired temperature is reached; but definitely for no longer than 2 minutes. However, if you’re looking for a more icy experience to soothe the likes of inflammation and puffy eyes, place your mask in a freezer until required. And the great thing about this process is that it doesn’t have to wait until bedtime, but that you can actually implement the many benefits at any time of day, whenever and wherever needed.

However, if you’ve come to the end of this blog and still find yourself without SMUG’s Natural Clay Bead Eye Mask, fear not! There’s no time like the present to head on over to our online shop to claim one as your own. And to celebrate the launch of our annual October Sleep Month, we’re giving our customers an extra 20% off; just be sure to use the code “LAUNCH20” at the checkout. Achieving good sleep well doesn’t need to be difficult, it just needs to be SMUG!