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The original was posted on /r/nosleep by /u/waybegirl on 2026-06-03 05:57:48+00:00.

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I have always had trouble sleeping ever since I was little. I wasn’t the type to get nightmares or even insomnia, but I was sensitive to just about everything. Noise, temperature, light, etc, would always make me stir or completely wake me up in some cases. I hardly remember dreaming at all.

Once I began living on my own, my minor sleep annoyance was becoming major, as it would for anyone. Feeling restless despite laying in bed for 8+ hours was absurd, and it was affecting work, school, etc.

I asked my girlfriend recently if I snored in bed, perhaps thinking it was my air flow keeping me up, maybe a deviated septum. She says she doesn’t recall, though she’s a heavy sleeper and may not even be able to tell. She concluded that I’m too sensitive overall, to sound and light, movement, etc. She suggested trying to fix these things one at a time.

The algorithm likes to taunt you with your problems, so I was getting ads for all kinds of items.

Slowly I began to incorporate different elements into my routine. White noise app, ear plugs, a blowing fan, softer sheets, memory foam pillow, the whole nine. I thought maybe I needed medication after all these years. Maybe even meditation.

I gave things some time, and actually saw a bit of improvement with my ear plugs, but I found myself snapping awake at the first sliver of light that hit the bedroom. Blackout curtains be damned, it’s like my body knew when the sun was up. I also didn’t want my girlfriend to have to wake in total darkness when she had to get ready for work earlier than I woke up sometimes.

I wasn’t a full insomniac, so I didn’t think a doctor’s visit would do me well, but right as I was about to consider it, I saw an ad while scrolling on social media. The “99% Satisfaction” sleep mask jumped out at me. I’d seen sleep masks before, but dismissed it, thinking I would be sensitive to something placed around my head or eyes as I slept. The ad made me think I was just being lazy if I wasn’t going to exhaust all my options.

Once the box arrived, I was unsurprised to see that it featured mostly the same description from the ad:

“The 99% Satisfaction Sleep Mask is designed to transform sleep from night one, and make the disruption of a full night’s rest the least of worries for every user. Trouble keeping yourself immersed through the night? Your lack of sleep will disappear, or your money back!”

The translation wasn’t great, but the mask felt cushioned and soft, with gel that seemed temperature controlled. I was prepared to get my money back. In this case, I was likely the unlucky 1%.

“Looks comfy, my sweet,” my girlfriend had said once we prepared for bed that night. “Is this the golden ticket?”

“Probably not.”

“Have some hope. If you worry about how much you’re gonna sleep because of this thing, then you’ll be so excited that you won’t get any rest at all.”

I appreciated the sentiment, but it felt a little naive. We both reached to click the lights, and I slipped the mask down onto my eyes.

Then it was 10:13am.

I stared at the clock, my thumb tilting the sleep mask up as one eye peered at the analog. “No way. I’m late!”

Despite rushing so much I had coffee on my shirt, I smiled the whole time on my commute. I couldn’t remember a blink, and considered it the biggest success of my life. My mind raced. It wasn’t a sketchy looking product, but had they put some kind of drug in the damn mask? I was beyond knocked out.

After a shocked look from my boss at my never-before-seen tardiness, I was able to check my phone to see a text from my girlfriend:

Scared the crap outta me this morning, but would we call this a success? Is my man well rested? lol

The attached image caught me off guard. Me in bed… completely face down. Hands by my sides as if I was a stiff corpse atop the bedcovers. My head wasn’t even turned to the side, just my face in the pillow. I responded:

WTF?? How long was I like that?

The text came back fast.

The morning at least. I thought u were pranking me, babe! I shook ur shoulders nd everything nd checked your pulse, haha.

Hardly a prank. Something about the photo was equal parts funny and unsettling in a way. A sleep mask knocked me out this much? Where I emerged from my covers and cut off a chunk of my air supply without a stir?

Either way, my afternoon slump was absent for the first time in forever, and I didn’t need a second cup of coffee.

I was almost excited to get home and get to sleep. I didn’t want to seem totally lame, but when I skipped the nightly video games in favor of getting an early rest, my girlfriend didn’t seem to question it, smirking to herself as if she knew what was going through my mind.

“Tucking in early?” she asked. I nodded, blushing. “Can’t wait to spend a day with my well-rested boyfriend soon.”

“I know, right?” I scoffed. “I’ll be able to watch a whole movie with you without passing out.”

And that was the last thing I remembered. I woke up at 10:48 a.m.

My boss was less than pleased, but I assured him I’d be setting a few alarms from here on out, and made sure to finish my whole day of work.

I checked my phone as I was about to drive home, surprised to see no text back from my earlier message to my girlfriend:

I slept the hell in again! Boss thinks I’m having a rough time, haha.

It was unusual not to hear a thing from her. My mind rationalized a few things, including a conversation about her being busier than usual at her own job.

As I got home, her car was there, so my more frantic mind-wanderings were put to rest for the moment. I went inside as usual, seeing her sorting through mail in the kitchen. As I hung up my coat nearby, I saw her nearly jump out of her skin, like a cat that had been frightened.

“Geez! What the hell,” she scoffed.

“Uh… what the hell to you?”

“Did you sneak in or something?” she asked, hand over her heart. I shook my head. “Don’t scare me like that.”

I chuckled, a little confused. “I didn’t mean to, I promise. You alright?”

Tension flooded the air, and I felt goosebumps creep along my skin at her lack of response. As I was about to open my mouth to speak again, she put her hand up.

“You… sleep talk. I’m finding that out.” Her voice was… eerie. Like she was holding back, even as she let out a little chuckle. “The you in deep sleep is nearly unshakeable. I can’t wake you up.”

“Damn babe, I… did something happen?” Sleep talking? Unheard of!

The video she showed me sent the creeps up my entire spine.

I was sitting up, 90 degrees, mouth moving. My girlfriend’s face comes into view.

“I can’t figure out what he’s saying,” she giggled. “Whispering something.”

As she got closer, I seemed to get louder.

“...you think. It’s always closer than you think. It’s always closer than you think. It’s always closer than you think—”

As she realized what I was saying, her face changed. She reached for my sleep mask, pulling it up.

My eyes were wide open.

“IT’S ALWAYS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK! IT’S ALWAYS CLOSER THAN YOU THINK!”

I screamed, bulging eyes, unwavering as I seemed to stare directly into her. She jumped back, scrambling from me, and the video ended.

She said she tried shaking me awake for a minute before I completely crashed like nothing happened.

“I’m so sorry, Babe,” I felt my hands shake a little.

“I’m glad you’re getting sleep. Seriously. I think it’s taking some getting used to. But if this is some prank, I hate it.”

I shook my head. “I would never—”

“And if it’s your body naturally reacting like this to your nightmares… I hate it more?” She wore an anxious smile, biting her lip, tapping her fingers. “If something’s bothering you, you can tell me, you know?”

The only thing bothering me at that point was my body acting like I was possessed by sleep, and the obvious nightmare that I couldn’t remember. I had not a clue what I was referring to in that video, and I felt beyond conflicted. On one hand, the last thing I wanted to do was scare my girlfriend with my nightmares. On the other hand, the last 48 hours had me so well rested and productive that I was eager for night time just to get a good sleep.

We both decided that a two-minute scare in the morning shouldn’t outweigh my resting time. After going basically my entire life on the verge of restlessness, I wasn’t sure what the norm was for me yet.

Aside from sleeping through my alarms, which happened again.

After waking around 11:28am, I was going to be a full two hours late for work. I called my boss and lied, saying that my new sleep treatment was actually causing some oversleep and health issues (just to get him off my back) and he agreed, saying that he’ll let me have the day to consult with my “doctor” so that this can stop happening.

Somehow, this just didn’t feel normal. With no text from my girlfriend, I was already feeling suspicious that something had happened this morning.

Before I even got out of bed, I decided to look up the reviews to see if anyone was as speculative as I was.

Firstly, it took a while to find the correct sleep mask, given the lack of what seemed like an official brand name. I basically had to type the entire description on the box to find anything associated with the mask aside from the initial ad and storefront from a third party. No official website of its own, but something that looked like a review page.

What I found… raised more questions.

*** * * * * Five stars :). I have been asl...

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