How NICETOWN Blackout Curtains Tamed Our East-Facing Bedroom Window

The sun hit the one east-facing window in our bedroom at about 6:45 every morning. For years that was fine. I was up before it anyway, a retired school nurse with a 24-year habit of being awake before the school day started. Then I retired, and my sleep got lighter and more broken. I started waking around 3 AM and could not get back into a deep stretch. By 6:45 the room was bright enough that the day had begun whether I was ready or not. Paul, my husband, can sleep through almost anything. I cannot.

We tried the small things first. I bought a contoured sleep mask about 14 months ago, and it helped with the light. It did nothing about the heat that collected on my side of the bed, and it did nothing about the window itself. Paul reads in bed with a small lamp for about 20 minutes after I turn in, so the mask still earns its place. But the morning sun needed a different answer. About 12 months ago we hung NICETOWN Blackout Curtains over that window. It was one of the few sleep changes I have made that Paul noticed without being told.

The NICETOWN set we bought is two panels, each 42 inches wide by 63 inches long. They have a grommet top with six grommets per panel, and the 1.6-inch inner opening fits a standard rod. Ours is a plain rod that was already over the window. The fabric is polyester with a triple weave, unlined, about 0.2 inches thick, and the pair weighs 2.1 pounds. That last number matters if you are hanging them yourself. I am 54 and not tall, and I could lift one panel onto the rod without waiting for Paul. We put both up together in one afternoon, and most of that time was spent moving the step stool, not fighting the curtains.

The listing says the curtains impede 85 to 99 percent of light and UV rays. I cannot measure percentages in my bedroom. I can tell you what changed. The hard stripe of sun that used to land across my pillow was gone. The room was not cave-dark. A little light came in at the edges and across the top of the rod, and I could still see the shape of the window. But 6:45 started to feel like 6:45 instead of noon.

The room was not cave-dark. But 6:45 started to feel like 6:45 instead of noon.

The first week was strange in a good way. I did not wake up because of the light. I still woke at 3 AM some nights, because curtains do not fix a 54-year-old body, a husband who runs hot, or a mind that decides to review the day at the worst possible hour. What changed was the second half of the morning. I could sleep past first light. On the mornings I did wake early, the room stayed dim enough that I could turn over and try again. The NICETOWN panels did their one job. They did not become a cure for everything.

The heat part surprised me more than the light. Our central air is set to 72 at night and the ceiling fan runs, so I am not going to pretend a curtain replaced either one. But the window side of the room used to feel warmer by mid-morning, and that changed. The fabric is described as balancing room temperature by insulating against summer heat and winter chill. In a Tampa summer, I will take any help I can get. Paul runs hot and I sleep on the left side, closer to that window. The room felt less stuffy at the edge of the bed, and he kicked the covers off onto my side less often.

Care has been simple. I machine washed the panels once, and they hung straight again without pressing. That suits me. I am not ironing curtains at this stage of my life. The tradeoff is that they are unlined and not soundproof. They do not stop Paul's light snoring, and they do not stop the neighbor's truck at 5:30. For snoring I use a white noise machine on my nightstand, and I still use the sleep mask when Paul reads. The NICETOWN curtains are for the window. Expecting them to be earplugs and a lamp is how people end up disappointed.

The other tradeoff is that the room got dark enough that I overslept my 6:30 walk a few times. That is not a fault of the curtains. It was a sign that I needed a better wake-up cue than sunlight through the glass. About six months ago I added a sunrise alarm clock on my nightstand. It starts brightening at 6:00 and makes a gentle sound at 6:20. Paul is not woken by it most mornings. Now the curtains keep the early sun out, and the clock brings me up on purpose. That combination has been better than either one alone.

What I'd Tell You If We Were Sitting at My Kitchen Table

If you are waking because the sun hits your face, start with the window. Not with a supplement, not with a new mattress, not with a phone app that scores your sleep. I like all those things less than I like solving the obvious problem first. Measure the window, check your rod, and buy panels that fit. The NICETOWN pair worked for us because it was the right size and the grommet top made it easy to hang. It is not the only pair of curtains in the world. It is the pair I have lived with for 12 months. I would tell you to expect less than total darkness and more than you have now. Then give it a week before you decide. Sleep changes are slow, and the ones that last are usually boring.