Adult Night Lights

Why use a night light as an adult?

An adult night light is no longer just for children's bedrooms. It meets real, everyday needs: winding down at bedtime, getting up in the night without switching on the main light, and creating a restful atmosphere without dazzling eyes that have adjusted to the dark.

The most common uses for an adult night lamp:

• Getting up in the night: going to the loo or fetching a glass of water without turning on the ceiling light.
• Not sleeping in total darkness: for people who dislike complete darkness, a discreet glow is reassuring.
• Bedroom ambience: the night light takes over from the bedside lamp for evening rituals (a little reading, meditation, listening to music).
• Sharing a bed: a soft, adjustable light lets you light your side of the bed without disturbing your partner.

The different types of adult night light

The right design depends on your main use: sleep, getting around at night, ambience or relaxation. Here are the five main families.

Adult bedroom night light (steady light, adjustable brightness)

This is the most common format for an adult bedroom night light. Placed on the bedside table, it gives a steady light, with a touch dimmer or a remote control to adjust the brightness.

• An example from our collection: the rechargeable bedside lamp offers 3 whites (warm, neutral or cool), touch control and a remote control with a 15, 30 or 60-minute timer.
• Ideal for: a little reading, waking in the middle of the night.

Cordless rechargeable night light

A cordless rechargeable night light runs on a battery: it moves from room to room and recharges via USB. Battery life depends on the model and the brightness: on our product pages, from 3 to 5 hours at full brightness for the rechargeable bedside lamp to 28 hours on the lowest setting for the red and amber night light.

• Main advantage: no socket needed, so you can put it anywhere (floor, shelf, bathroom).
• Ideal for: bedrooms with no socket near the bed, getting around at night, travel.

Adult starry sky projector

A projector turns the ceiling or wall into a night sky. In our collection, the shooting star planetarium projects 13 interchangeable films, from the Moon to the Milky Way. You'll find other designs in our projector night light collection.

• Ideal for: unwinding before bed, meditation, weekend ambience.

Night light with essential oil diffuser

This format combines soft lighting with a mist released from a water tank, and a light that changes colour. The models with a tank in our collection: the essential oil diffuser (7 colours, 2 diffusion speeds), the cloud humidifier (200 ml tank) and the rain sound night light (night light, humidifier and diffuser, 300 ml tank).

• Ideal for: the main bedroom, relaxation rituals.

Sunrise simulator

A sunrise simulator gradually brightens the light before your wake-up time. Our sunrise alarm clock lets you set this sunrise from 10 to 60 minutes, with 7 nature sounds and FM radio. You'll find other light-up alarm clocks in our alarm clock night light collection.

• Ideal for: people who prefer to wake up with light rather than with an alarm alone.

How to choose an adult night light

Before you buy, check these five criteria.

Brightness is the easiest criterion to overlook. A night light that is too bright becomes a mini bedside lamp and loses its purpose at night. Go for a model with a dimmer, so you can turn the light down when it's time to sleep.

Where should you put it in the bedroom? Out of your line of sight once you're lying down: lower than the headboard, close to the floor, or on the bedside table facing the wall. Indirect light keeps the room dark while still letting you make out shapes.

Night lights for elderly people: what to look for

A night light for elderly people meets a specific need: getting around at night, from the bedroom to the bathroom, without hunting for the switch or turning on a dazzling light.

Four features matter most for this kind of user:

• Motion sensor that switches on automatically: the light comes on as you walk past and switches itself off. Depending on the product page, detection ranges from 3 to 8 metres over 120°, with switch-off after 20 or 30 seconds on some models.
• Plug-in: no battery to recharge and no cable to connect every evening, so it works all the time without any input.
• Low light: placed close to the floor, it lights the way without dazzling you as you wake, unlike a ceiling light.
• Simple controls: a single button or none at all (automatic mode only) to avoid fiddling in the dark.

A typical set-up: a motion-sensor night light in the hallway between the bedroom and the bathroom, and a second one by the bed, on the side you get up from. Our guide to the night light for elderly people explains how to choose.

Adult night light: which light is best for sleep?

Here's what our product pages say about light colour:

• Red and amber only: the portable red and amber night light has no white light at all, with 3 brightness levels in red or amber.
• Warm light: the portable adult night light, portable egg, book night light, mushroom, and the 8 cm crystal balls with an amber or warm glow.
• Choice of whites: the bedside lamp and the cordless adult night light switch from warm white to cool white, like most of our motion-sensor night lights. For the bedroom and at night, stick to warm white.
• Colours: the multicoloured models (moon, adult LED, 6 cm crystal balls) are for ambience before you fall asleep; for the whole night, choose the warmest shade and the lowest brightness.

Our selection of adult night lights

Our collection ranges from a compact adult night light for the bedside table to a projector for ambience. The table sorts them by need, with the key details from their product pages. To fall asleep to a sound, our adult and baby models are also gathered in the white noise night lights collection.

Two night lights don't fit these families: the 3D Quran night light for adults, an open Quran in relief on acrylic with a wooden base, and the firefly night light, solar-charged, which switches on by itself at dusk, set on a garden table or hung in the branches.

Travellers and people on the move: a cordless adult night light slips into a bag; you'll find other rechargeable designs, for children and adults alike, in our rechargeable night light collection. For a baby's or child's bedroom, take a look at our kids' night light collection instead.

Frequently asked questions about adult night lights

Can you sleep all night with a night light as an adult?

Yes, you can sleep all night with an adult night light as long as its light stays dim, warm and out of your line of sight. Choose the lowest brightness, an amber or red shade, or a timer that switches it off by itself: from 1 to 90 minutes on our portable adult night light.

Which light should you choose so it doesn't disturb your sleep?

At night, a night light with a warm, amber or red light is a better choice than a bluish white. In its opinion on LEDs of 14 May 2019, Anses, the French agency for food, environmental and occupational health and safety, states that light rich in blue in the evening or at night disrupts biological rhythms and sleep, and recommends "warm white" home lighting.

Cordless or plug-in night light: which should you choose?

A cordless night light can go anywhere and is recharged; a plug-in night light stays put and never needs recharging. Cordless suits the bedside, the bathroom and travel, like our rechargeable bedside lamp. Plug-in suits a hallway that is lit every night: our plug-in motion-sensor night lights.

How long does the battery of a rechargeable night light last?

The battery life of a rechargeable night light depends on the model and the brightness you choose. On our product pages: up to 28 h on the lowest setting for the red and amber night light, 22.5 h for the portable touch night light, around 3 to 5 h at full brightness for the rechargeable bedside lamp. The other product pages don't give a figure.

Is an adult night light useful over 60?

Yes, an adult night light is useful over 60 for getting up at night without hunting for the switch. The simplest option is a motion-sensor model, which comes on as you walk past and switches itself off. Our product pages give a range of 3 to 8 metres depending on the model; some plug into the wall, others are rechargeable.

How do you care for and clean your night light?

To clean a night light, switch it off, unplug it if it has a cable, then wipe it with a soft, dry cloth, with no cleaning product or water on the electrical parts. A crystal ball can be wiped like a glass. On a diffuser or humidifier, empty the tank when you're not using it.