my blackout curtains are my favourite!

As a professional curtain maker my advice if you're bothered by light would be to double up with blackout blinds and blackout curtains. Blinds or curtains alone will always allow some light bleed into the room.

Sleep well!

Is I see daylight I have to get up which does not bother me as I like to go to bed early in the dark and be up and about in the daylight hours especially if the sun is shining.

I am an owl and with late nights come the need to sleep in (on my days off work). Oh, I wish England used those lovely thick shutters most French houses boast!

This question is of great interest to me as we are just building our loft extension with large glass window and a long narrow skylight. It is to become our bedroom and I am anticipating the light in the mornings being a real problem (unless you can train yourself to get used to it??). Can anyone recommend good bespoke blind makers who can make an unusual shaped blind for an awkward to reach space (so will need some kind of pulley system or pole with hook on for opening and closing). Thanks for your help.

We have some great curtains that keep the morning light low, but they're useless against children who still persist on jumping on us when we try to get a weekend sleep in!

We had shutters fitted. This really does solve the problem in a bedroom with dual aspect windows. One facing due east and the other south

I find it virtually impossible to get to sleep unless it is totally dark but find natural light the best way to wake up in the morning. I grew up in the country so no light pollution, so simply went to bed with the curtains open but nowadays I'm in a city so I have to have lined curtains to sleep. I'd like to fit a system to open the curtains on a timer. Not easy as the window is not straight, nor an even curve. I can't even fit pull cords.

I don't have black out blinds in my current home; I have thick lined curtains - as much to reduce heat loss as to limit light. I had black out blinds in my loft bedroom in my previous home and they made a difference but they never fit edge to edge in a recess such as a conservation roof light or other roof window so there is always some light leeching in. I think there is an element of brain training in this - I rationalised that some light is inevitable but it's minor and found that the bright light coming in through the edges didn't count. I'm not saying it's mind over matter generally; I know it isn't as I'm really bothered by the light through thin curtains. I managed to convince myself that a little light around the edges is not enough to wake me up or annoy me on waking.

I change my curtains from winter to summer and vice versa. I also have a blind(not blackout). Ive been lazy this year and left my summer ones up all year(washed occasionally.

It really suits me waking up to the sun gradually creeping into our bedroom. I like the room dark to go to sleep, but definitely happy with a sunny wake up!

I despise blackout blinds and curtains. There is nothing worse than waking up in a pitch black room. Even in Helsinki in June I kept the curtains open so I could see the sun rise. I had no problem sleeping at all. You seen the sun start to come up, check the clock then see you have hours left to sleep. Nothing more calming in my opinion.

It can be bothersome to have a bright light at 5am in the morning in the summer in UK, and the light at 7.30am in the winter does get us up. Blinds and thick curtains are very useful, and once we're up, opening them and / or turning on the light will definitely wake us up! :)

I'm conscious that sometimes when i have slept in rooms with black-out window dressings my body clock doesnt wake me up; so i assume i'm used to having natural light wake me - which on reflection i like.

....although after a great night out i'd like my body clock to sleep in as well!!

It's a holiday problem! Never find light proof curtains when we're away. A blind plus curtains does it at home. I understand that sleeping in real darkness is good for us so I hope that message spreads...

In the Tropics sunrise is roughly the same time every day
so you get used to being awakened gently by light at just the right time. In the UK your poor body has to keep
adjusting to different levels of light - from the pitch black darkness of
Winter to the brightest light of Summer. It would be lovely if 'morning light' was always in
synch with sunrise!

Blinds or curtains with a blackout lining are the perfect solution we think! Or even better, layering of the two to reduce light flare at the edge of the window. A great night's sleep here we come...

In winter, I PRAISE it! In summer I put blackout curtains on my bedroom windows because they are facing east and my bed is placed under the window and I don't feel like getting up at 6 in the morning on Saturdays and Sundays.

Great question! We value a good night's sleep at Bloc Blinds and have developed the BlocOut Blind with that in mind. It provides an unmatched level of darkness in the home.

We get a lot of feedback from customers about how much better sleep they are getting as a result both to reduced light in their own room but also due to their children sleeping in longer thanks to the light levels in their rooms too.

It is a winner of multiple awards including the House Beautiful award for Best Eco Product and shortlisted this year for the Made for Mums awards under Best Nursery Product Category.

Find out how to Get a better night's sleep here.

I'm one of those people who needs perfect darkness & silence to sleep. In my previous home I had a skylight in my bedroom (not my choice) and it was a total nightmare. It's not's so bad now as I have thick curtains but I have still got a habit of lying with my arm across my eyes to shield the light in the morning. I've also had to cover the tiny lights from the SKY box & a heater with black electrical tape because they seem so bright to me that they keep me awake. If only I could find a way of stopping my husband snoring.........

Why would someone be building a new bedroom with large windows and skylight when they already suspect it's going to be a problem?