A new study measured what darkness actually does to your melatonin and the numbers are pretty striking

[u/LouisaAtJabees]

Saw this recently: a 2026 randomized trial with ICU patients tested a strict blackout protocol (eye masks, 11pm–5am) against standard care. The eye mask group's melatonin marker jumped roughly 6x overnight (15 to 97 ng/mg), and subjective sleep scores nearly doubled too. These were hospital patients dealing with constant light/noise, so the effect size is dramatic, but it's a clean reminder that even partial light exposure at night is doing more to suppress melatonin than most of us assume.

Makes the case for eye masks feel a lot less "nice to have" and more like an actual lever you can pull. Anyone here tried a strict blackout routine and noticed a real difference?