New Blackout Technology Enhances Sleep Quality, Cuts Exhaustion and Regulates Mood Disorders, Experts Confirm

Ever feel you're running on empty, even after a full night's sleep? Turns out, it's not just about the hours you clock in bed that are important... 

It's about the quality of those Zzz's too.

It’s not as easy as counting sheep; life’s demands, such as shift work and parent duties often get in the way.

However, one company from Dallas, Texas has developed a solution that goes after the core issue.

It turns out the light you’re exposed to whilst sleeping is the biggest deciding factor in whether you wake up feeling groggy or well-rested.

Not only that, you’re putting yourself at risk of other health complications...

Turning off the lights and closing the curtains isn't exactly a catchy, new sleep hygiene hack, but this common sense advice is gaining even more scientific credibility.

Many Americans sleep in a room that's punctuated with some form of artificial light — whether it's coming from a TV, a jumble of electronics or an intrusive streetlight.

New research suggests that one night of sleep with just a moderate amount of light may have adverse effects on cardiovascular and metabolic health.

"I was surprised that even this fairly, I would say, small amount of light just getting through the eyes to the brain still had such notable effect," says Dr Phyllis Zee, senior author of the new study and director of the Center for Circadian and Sleep Medicine at Northwestern University.

Sleep deprivation impacts cardiovascular health, metabolism, is known to cause cancers and messes with your metabolism, paving the way to weight gain and metabolic disorders like type 2 diabetes. 

One study shows the damage after just one night of moderate light exposure.

Just imagine living like this every night!

Your body's "master clock" in the brain syncs with clocks in your organs. When this rhythm is off, like with the pancreas, it can't properly control insulin, leading to blood sugar spikes. This boosts the risk of diabetes, heart disease, and more.

A study of 40,000 women found sleeping with a TV or light on increased the risk of gaining 11 lbs by 17% over five years.

Research shows that when circadian rhythms are disrupted over just three weeks, the metabolic harm is evident.

But without the extra light at night, even chronic sleep deficiency didn't hit glucose metabolism as hard.

Most people have tried an eye mask, some people swear by them, many find them annoying and irritating.

Others think a herbal bedtime tea can improve deep sleep. Several million Americans even rely on more heavy-duty sleeping pills.

As the evidence suggests, there is nothing more powerful than complete darkness.

Even a pin prick of light can derail those sleep stats...

And that’s where Luke and Josh Boorman found a solution.

The two brothers had tried several blind manufacturers in their quest for total darkness.

Previously, Luke had suffered with brain fog and mood swings for over three-and-a-half years before a camping trip made him realise that it was his light exposure was causing his health issues.

After trying sleep masks, Luke found that he still didn’t wake up feeling as well-rested as he did when camping. After conducting research, he found that any skin exposed to light could effect natural sleep cycles.

That’s when Luke turned to blackout blinds. They seemed the logical next steps and provided various other benefits - insulation, total privacy and noise reduction

After conducting consumer research on electronic blackout blinds, he wasn’t sold on any of the brands he came across. They were either:

1. Bulky and had exposed cords
2. Didn’t provide DIY installation
3. Unable to connect to smart home systems (e.g. Alexa, Google Home, etc.)
4. Lacked customisation options

After testing 72+ local and nationwide suppliers they found they all failed the 100% darkness test.

Luke drafted in his brother, Josh. Luke felt this was a huge opportunity not to be missed and needed Josh’s engineering background to bring his ideas to life.

Sixteen months of research, development and testing and five prototypes later, UBlockout® blinds was developed and ready to take to market.

The first easy-to-install blinds that guarantee 100% darkness.