If you want to be a world-class athlete, you will have to optimize your bedroom, and blackout curtains are the best way to start doing just that.
Did you know that elite athletes sleep an average of 8-10 hours per night, with some going up to 12 hours during intense training periods? As an athlete, there is nothing more important for your recovery than sleep—your body rebuilds and strengthens during deep, uninterrupted sleep. But unfortunately, as with everything in life, there is a problem, and that problem is light: As healthy as light is for you through the day, even the slightest bit of light can disrupt your circadian rhythm and sabotage your sleep!
I’ve been researching ways to improve sleep quality both for myself as an athlete and for other people as a coach —I found out that investing in quality blackout curtains is the best investment for the price that you can find. Whether you’re a professional athlete who relies on their performance for a living or just training as a hobby, you have to create a pitch-black sleep environment to get that edge over others. Light pollution doesn’t just interrupt your sleep; it suppresses melatonin production, reduces REM cycles, and ultimately compromises the very recovery your body desperately needs and wants after a hard workout session.
In this all-in-one guide, I will tell you everything you need to know about blackout curtains to see how they work, why they are so useful to athletes and physically active people, and most importantly, I will tell you which one is for you based on your personal needs and wants.
Table of Contents
Why Athletes Need Blackout Curtains for Optimal Recovery
There is no secret that deep sleep is the most important process of recovery for humans, but it is not just about deep sleep, but also about how you get there. If you have a great recovery during the best stages of sleep but you can’t access it it will not mean much. That is where Blackout curtains can and probably will help. Exposure to just a small amount of 8 lux of light, which is light on your phone, can reduce melatonin production by almost 51%, which will completely mess up your natural sleep-wake cycle and recovery processes.
Studies show that athletes who sleep in complete darkness can experience faster muscle recovery of up to 23% compared to those who sleep in environments with more lights, especially blue lights. Some other positive effects are faster decision-making and reaction time, which is crucial in all sports. Also, if your goal is to build muscle and lose fat, geting enouph high quality sleep in a dark environment is a must because Testosterone, which is a hormone responsible for both building muscle and losing fat is reduced by up to 15% when sleeping in the enviroments that are fragmented by light. As you could have thought, this is terrible for your overall results.
Besides these studies, there have also been sport-specific studies for multiple sports, for example, basketball players who optimize their sleep environment on average improved their sprints and shooting accuracy.
Many believe that these negative effects occur only from blue lights and not from red ones, while it is true that blue lights are even more destructive to your ability to fall asleep and enter deep and REM sleep, it is the absolute best to keep all lights to a minimum because they all have that negative effect. If you have done any research about this topic before reading this blog, you also probably know about timportance of body temperature during sleep for physical recovery, but did you know that sleeping in complete darkness will help your body stay in the optimal 60-67°F (15.6-19.4°C) temperature.
That is not just because of the positive effects of darkness but the negative effects of light during sleep that will trigger the raising of body temperatures. Don’t get me wrong, I love light and it is extremely healthy but throw the day and less healthy throw the night when you are trying to sleep.
If you are by any chance an athlete who travels a lot or just going to travel as a part of a competition or something similar, you know how challengeing can it be to change time zones for your health and performance.
And than you have huge preasure on you because you dont want to make excusses if underperforming or losing a competition but everybody who went throw the dificulty of switching time zones gets you and it is a valid excuse, but you still have to try your best to prevent those side effects from happening and that is why I reccomend to you that you take these blackout curtains with you because you could trick your brain into sleeping well throw the day.
To learn more about how blue light can negativly effect sleep, performance and wellbeing read the research published by PubMed here.
Top 10 Best Blackout Curtains for Athletes in 2025
NICETOWN 100% Blackout Window Curtain
NICETOWN curtains are some of the highest efficiency and quality on the market, with multiple designs and over 15 colors, you will have no problem finding the best fit for you. Because there are multiple colors of choice, you can have your favorite color from the inside of a room and a black light blocking color facing the windows. Overall, these curtains are absolutely amazing and a top recommendation from me.
Deconovo Blackout Curtains
Deconovo Total Blackout Curtains provide the best value for the price by being covered in a patented silver coating that blocks 100% of light and UV rays. They will also significantly reduce outside noise, which will help you even further with your sleep. These curtains are a great value for the price and would be one of my top recommendations.
NICETOWN 100% Blackout Window Curtain
There is no company that will hit this list as much as NICETOWN and the quality of their products shows with this next one, which are NICETOWN Portable blackout blinds. These curtains will be the best fit for you if you travel a lot because they are made to be as handy and useful as possible when you are on the travel. They are very easily attachable to any window and they weigh just 8 ounces and can be folded to pocket size. Even though they provide all of these extra features,s they are still as efficient as other curtains on the list.
Eclipse Absolute Zero
Absolute Zero curtains from Eclipse are a bit of an upgrade from the last couple with their Thermaback technology that blocks 100% of light while maintaining bedroom temperature within 1°F. They will be extremly helpfull for your sleep and recovery. Also, its feature noise-dampening properties reduce ambient sound by up to 41%.
These curtains are my number one pick for athletes living in a louder part of the city where there is a lot of traffic or partying through the night. Besides its obvious light-blocking effect these specific curtains have the best noise-blocking system on the market, which will definitely help you maintain deep sleep much longer than usual because noise is a number one disruptor of deep sleep.
Moondream Noise Reduction Blackout Curtains
If you have a bigger budget and you are not satisfied with what other curtains offer, let me introduce you to the absolute best curtains on the market. Although I am personally satisfied with all the other curtains on the list and they will be enough for most people, there is no denying that these are the absolute best on the whole market.
These Moondream Noise curtains are 100% controlable and customizable by connecting them to an app, and they also have voice compatibility with Google or Alexa, so you can get them down or up even when you are not home. Personally, my by far favorite feature is that you can set them up to get up a little bit before your waking hour so you can get sunlight right when you wake up. If you think that the price is worth it, I would recommend no less than these curtains for you.
Conclusion:
Becoming the best athlete or building muscle isn’t just about the gym or working out; it is mostly about recovery, and there is no better recovery than sleeping. In this case, sleep isn’t the isue because everybody knows how important it is, but what many don’t know is that if you dont optimize your sleep environment, you will have a hard time faling a sleep and having high-quality sleep.
That is the reason why today I researched and chose the absolute best blackout curtains for athletes on the market to see which one can help your goals the most. After all the research I have done about recovery and sleep, there is no more cost-effective way to improve in those areas than to do yourself a favor and buy a blackout curtain. I mean, just think about it, we are talking about a one-time purchase that will be useful every single night for the years to come.
Complete darkness during sleep isn’t just a new age method but a biological necessity for optimal recovery, height, muscle growth, and recovery from injuries. Whatever you choose, our best overall pick and buy NICETOWN 100% Blackout Curtains or choose a more expensive premium option with Moondream Noise Reduction Blackout Curtains. The most important part is still the same: give your body an opportunity to heal like it should for your health and physical performance.
I would like to end this blog by advising you to remember that the best athletes in the history of any sport and the best bodybuilders of all time knew better than to be foolish and overtrain and get badly injured. They knew that recovery was what made them so different and better than an average gym rat or athlete. If you want to learn more about phisical recovery as a athlete read my article about the best sleep trackers for athletes here.
FAQ
What type of curtain is best for blackout?
I found that triple-weave blackout curtains are the best type for complete light blocking, and they have been found to be the most effective in multiple test trials.
What is better than blackout curtains for room darkening?
Nothing is better than blackout curtains for room darkening, especially from the outside light, and if you are trying to get sleep during the day.
What is the downside of blackout curtains?
The main downside that most people, find includeing me, is that it is difficult to wake up naturally without sunlight to help you wake up properly. What worked for me is to make the alarm clock as loud as possible, but the best decision you can make to solve this problem is to get the type of blackout curtains that can be programmed to go up before you wake up.
Do blackout curtains have to be black?
No, Blackout curtains don’t necessarily have to be black; they can come in any color you want, even white. All of these curtains can provide the same result of blocking the light from entering your room while you sleep for optimal rest.
Do blackout curtains really work?
Yes, not only do blackout curtains work, but in my opinion they are the best investment you can make for your sleep and recovery compareing value and the cost of the products.
What is the best blackout curtain fabric?
Polyester fabric was found to be the most effective by offering you almost 100% light blocking experience. Also, it provides excellent durability, and it will not lose effectiveness when washed.
Are there 100% blackout curtains?
Yes, 100% blackout curtains exist, and they are mostly produced by reputable companies like NICETOWN, Eclipse, and Deconovo. You should keep in mind that not all of their blackout curtains are 100% light blocking, and not all of their curtains are blackout at all.
How much do good blackout curtains cost?
Best overall mid price blackout curtains cost around 50-100$ with budget-friendly options going around 25-50$ and premium options going up to 300$.
[…] In selecting the ideal smart alarm clock for an athletic lifestyle, it’s crucial to consider several factors that can significantly enhance both performance and well-being. Athletes often have demanding schedules that necessitate effective time management, making a smart alarm clock an integral tool for maintaining optimal sleep health. Quality sleep is essential for recovery, energy levels, and overall athletic performance, underscoring the importance of choosing a clock that aligns with individual sleep needs and preferences. Also dont forget that even though alarm clocks are the best way to start the day right for the next night of sleep they are not the only part of bedroom optimization as a athlete. One other thing that I often talk about are blackout curtains and they are very important because light is very bad for you before faling asleep and if you are interested in reading about the best blackout curtains you can read my article here. […]