How did we become dependent on gear just to sleep?

I told a table of friends that I'd once brought an eye mask to a date’s house.

- Olivia Petter, The Independent

We were exchanging embarrassing anecdotes from the front lines of the dating scene, and I presumed my confession would be met with a few laughs at my own high-maintenance expense, “Oh, babe, I whip mine out on the first date,” one replied, utterly nonplussed. Another admitted to meditating beside a recent Hinge match before bed, and even said she would wait for dates to fall asleep before applying a noise-canceling headband.

Sleep paraphernalia is big business. I know this because I'm one of its biggest customers: in addition to the eye mask (silk, of course, so as not to irritate my skin), I use earplugs (silicone), pillow spray (lavender), and a small pulsating pebble that sits on my chest to calm my nervous system. And that’s on a normal night. On a special occasion, like, say, a Sunday evening, I might incorporate a hair mask and possibly an overnight facial peel too. Did I also mention the addition of sleepy teas and magnesium-infused hot chocolates?