A huge winter storm is coming — the headphone eye mask I use to sleep well in bad weather drops to $23.99

A few years ago my little part of the world was hit by a severe storm — I'm talking a roofs gone, power out, emergency phone alerts blaring kinda storm. Between the howling winds and pounding anxiety, I was expecting a few nights with no sleep.

But my port in this storm was my MUSICOZY headphone sleep mask, from $23.99 on Amazon. Blocking out light and sound, I could pretend the wind was gently rustling at my ear and not trying to uproot the trees outside my bedroom window.

While a Bluetooth sleep mask can't completely quell storm anxiety, the best sleep headphones help you take control of your sleep environment, even when the real environment isn't playing ball.

With severe winter weather forecast, here's why I think your sleep mask should sit alongside your snow blower in your storm preparation kit.

MUSICOZY Sleep Headphones: was $29.99 now $23.99 at Amazon

In my MUSICOZY Sleep Headphone review I praised this eye mask's combination of total blackout and immersive sound. The result is a cocoon of coziness in which you can almost pretend there's no outside world at all. Admittedly the sound quality is sub-par compared to more expensive models but it's fine for the relaxing drone of brown noise or white noise. And at $23.99 in the Amazon sale (was $29.99), I'm not expecting the audio quality of the best wireless earbuds.

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Why the MUSICOZY is my storm must-have

I'm someone who can sleep through pretty much anything but when it sounds like the wind is dismantling your backyard, it's hard to get quality shut-eye.

The MUSICOZY headphones use Bluetooth connectivity to link to your phone, allowing you to stream music, meditations, or even calming white noise, all while snuggled up in bed.

The speakers sit over your ears and while they might not offer the crisp audio quality of something like the Soundcore Sleep A30 Earbuds, they do effectively mask outside noise — even hailstones battering your windows.

Combined with the total blackout of the molded eye cushions, you can pretend the outside world isn't happening at all.

Because stress can rocket during a storm, as you find yourself powerless in the face of potentially devastating weather.

And stress is terrible for your sleep, particularly when paired with loud, unpredictable weather.

Known as 'storm anxiety', the National Weather Service recommends riding out the storm by taking control of anything that might be making your fears worse. Noise and light are two things you can't prevent but with a noise-blocking sleep mask, you can control how much they impact you.

Other tips for sleeping during a storm

We have a full guide to sleeping during a storm but here are the highlights:

• Practice calming breathing: Exercises like the 4-7-8 breathing method and the military sleep method can help calm anxiety, while cognitive shuffling helps calm racing thoughts.
• Use responsive noise cancellation: Noisy storms are hard to sleep through but if you're worried about damage, you might not want to block sound completely. Responsive noise cancellation, found in Bose QuietComfort Headphones, pauses music during big disruptions.
• Block out light: For some, lightning flashes are the worst part of any storm. A sleep mask is an affordable way to create cozy darkness, while blackout blinds act as a long-term solution.
• Layer up: Expecting snow? Layering your bedding helps you stay warm without overheating, even with snowdrifts outside.

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