Sleep masks that don't press on your eyes: Manta and Drowsy compared

What makes a sleep mask press on your eyes?

A sleep mask presses on your eyes when the fabric sits flat across the eyelids and the strap pulls it tight; a mask that doesn't press lifts the fabric off the eye, either with a cup or with padding thick enough to rest on the bone around it.

Most cheap masks are a flat piece of fabric on elastic. To block light round the edges they have to be pulled snug, and snug means pressure on the eyelids and lashes. If that feeling is the reason you have given up on masks, the fix is in the shape, not the fabric.

There are two good designs:

• Cups. A shaped cup sits around the eye socket, leaving an air gap over the eye. The Manta Sleep Mask uses detachable cups that give a space about 5.2cm wide and slide along the strap so they line up with your eyes.
• Deep padding. A thick padded mask rests on the brow and cheekbone and bridges over the eye. The Drowsy silk mask uses large, soft bamboo padding under silk, with a contoured lower edge and a notch at the centre for your nose.

What to look for in a no-pressure sleep mask

• Contact point. Ask where the mask actually touches your face. Cups touch a ring round the eye socket. Padding touches the brow and upper cheek. Flat masks touch everything.
• Blackout. Light usually gets in at the nose. Manta says its mask blocks all light, even in daylight, with the cups placed properly. With padded masks, the fit round the nose matters most, which is what Drowsy's contoured edge and nose notch are for.
• Strap. A thin elastic strap digs in and pulls hair. Manta's strap is a wide band of polycotton outside and velour inside, adjustable up to 73cm round. Drowsy's mask is a wide silk design with no thin strap.
• Weight. Manta gives 142g. Heavier masks stay put but you feel them more.
• Fabric against skin. Manta's cups are covered in modal, which Manta says absorbs sweat. Drowsy is 22 momme mulberry silk. If fabric texture on your face is the dealbreaker, this is the line to read.
• Side sleeping. Deep cups stick out further than padding. Manta sells a separate PRO mask it pitches at side sleepers, which tells you something about the original.
• Washing and returns. Manta goes in the machine, cold, in a mesh bag. Drowsy has its own silk care page. Both give you 60 days to change your mind.

Manta and Drowsy compared

Cups or padding: which suits you?

Choose cups if you want total dark and cannot stand anything on your eyelids; choose padding if you want the mask to feel soft and light and do not mind it resting on your face.

Cups are the more precise answer to pressure. Once the Manta cups are lined up, the fabric simply is not near your eyes, and you can blink freely inside the mask. The trade-off is a more built-up shape. If you sleep on your back, you will not notice. If you sleep on your side, the cup on the pillow side gets pushed, and the pressure you were avoiding can come back through the side door.

Padding is the gentler feel. The Drowsy mask is wide and cushioned, so it spreads its light pressure over the brow and cheek rather than the eyelid. For people who dislike the feel of a structured thing on their face, silk and padding can be easier to live with. It is also the pricier way to do it.

If you are not sure, start with the cheaper Manta, since both makers offer 60 days to return, and you will know within a week which bits of your face mind being touched.

If you sleep on your side

For side sleepers, the flattest profile wins: a padded mask that squashes, or a cup mask designed for side sleeping.

The original Manta's cups are round and deep. The Manta PRO, about £69, has C-shaped cups that Manta says taper at the temples and sit flatter against the side of the head, and a strap that sits above the ears. Padding is the other route, because it squashes when you lie on it: the Drowsy is likely to be more forgiving than the original Manta for side sleepers, at more than twice its price.

Pair either mask with earplugs if noise is the other half of the problem. Check where the strap crosses your ears; a flush, soft plug such as Loop Dream is the easiest kind to wear under a band.

Things to know

• Wash masks regularly. They sit on your skin all night. Manta's cups go in the wash with the mask; follow Drowsy's care page for the silk.
• Take eye make-up and heavy creams off first, or they end up on the mask.
• Manta's "blocks all light" is the maker's claim. We have not tested either mask, and any mask leaks light if it does not fit your nose and cheekbones.
• If your eyes or eyelids get sore or irritated, stop using the mask and speak to a pharmacist or optician.
• For children, the Manta KIDS mask uses the same cup idea at about £29. Manta says it is for ages 6 and up. Nothing on the shelf is under £29.
• Specs and prices come from the Manta Sleep UK and Drowsy Sleep Co pages on 11 September 2026.