3 Best Night Lights, Tested and Reviewed
Set your room aglow and banish monsters with these top-tested night lights for any age.
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Everyone at Good Housekeeping knows I'm a fickle sleeper. In keeping with stereotypes of computer nerds, I keep odd hours and when I do sleep (if at all) it's often under the blue-white glow of a laptop screen. Like many kids and adults, a soft light helps me feel comforted at night (and helps my clumsy self from tripping over furniture). But not all glows are created equal.
The topic of night lights has recently sparked debate, especially among parenting circles. There is research, however, that suggests that warmer, less bright light is less disruptive to sleep quality. So, swapping out the unclosed laptop for more gentle options, I reviewed years of Good Housekeeping Parenting Awards data and tested seven new night lights to find the best ones.
The Good Housekeeping Institute regularly tests a variety of sleep products, from our annual Bedding Awards to sunrise alarm clocks. To find out more about how we test and what to look for when shopping for night lights, keep reading after our picks.
Pros
- Soothing amber light
- Low brightness
- UL-certified
Cons
- No manual controls
- A little pricey
Loftie strikes many balances with their night lights. The simple design manages to look both elegant and kid-friendly, and the soft warm glow of the amber model looks more like candlelight than an artificial LED.
While these lights are slightly pricier than other models we looked at, their premium feel justifies the price tag. These lights were the top scorer in a blinded appearance evaluation and were significantly warmer than any of the other lights I examined in our Labs. They were also the second dimmest, though in at-home testing I found they provided ample light to navigate my apartment in the dark.
What's more, they're UL-certified, meaning they've been tested for electrical safety by a third-party laboratory, so you can leave them plugged in with ease of mind. While they may lack manual on-off or brightness controls, I found the light sensing to be responsive and accurate.
| Light Sensing | Yes |
| Dimmable | No |
| Light Temperature | Very warm |
Pros
- Rotating design lets you adjust light level and position in your room
- Bright enough to clearly light paths and countertops
- Great value
Cons
- May be too bright for the bedroom
What these night lights from GE lack in warmth they make up for in versatility. Although they had the second highest color temperature reading per in-Lab testing, their convenient rotating design make them easy to mount and adjust in any location to get the desired lighting effect.
These night lights were also the second brightest in our testing. That means that while they may not be the best sleep aid, their spotlight-esque design makes them perfect for illuminating dark paths or countertops in the home. This can be especially helpful in preventing trips and falls for those who have a harder time seeing at night like older adults. Even with their high brightness and cooler color, these nightlights were the second top scorer in our blinded appearance evaluation, so its safe to say there's no need to compromise on aesthetics and making your home a bit safer to navigate at night.
| Light Sensing | Yes |
| Dimmable | No (but direction of light can be changed) |
| Light Temperature | Somewhat warm |
Nanit Sound + Light Audio Monitor
Pros
- Night light, sound machine, clock and baby monitor all in one
- Schedule nighttime and morning routines via the app
Cons
- Not necessary if you already own a monitor/sound machine
This unique device from Nanit covers a wide range of products parents might want for their child's bedroom. Beyond being a night light, it has a clock and from the app you can schedule wake-up and wind-down routines with custom colors and sounds. Additionally, it features an audio baby monitor so you can keep a close ear on your little one.
The accompanying Nanit Sound and Light app gives you granular control over the light's brightness and a full-spectrum RBG control over the color, making designing your child's perfect lighting setup a snap. Given its versatility, it's no wonder this unique sound machine/night light/baby monitor from Nanit was a winner of last year's Parenting Awards, with at-home testers loving the ease of managing the light's settings via the included app and some even saying it helped their children sleep better. Though it's not a traditional night light like the other two picks, its utility makes it a must mention for kids and parents.
| Light Sensing | No (Programmable) |
| Dimmable | Yes |
| Light Temperature | Multiple |
Other night lights we tested
Great ValueMini LED Night Light Light Sensing (Soft White): This night light is the cheapest one tested for this roundup. While in a blinded appearance evaluation this one received the lowest scores, a large contributor was a general favor among participants for warmer lights. That said, some people actually prefer cooler lights and being UTL-certified, it's a great choice for anyone who prefers a bluer tone or isn't interested in more expensive options.
Loftie Alarm Clock (Red Shell Edition): Loftie has a knack for understanding ambient light. The new Red Shell version of their cult favorite alarm clock provides a glow that feels like a high end spa. At its price tag it's hard to recommend outright if you're only looking for a simple night light. That said, for the aesthetes among us or those who want an alarm clock/night light/sound machine hybrid (with a Bluetooth speaker to boot), it's a strong contender. For more info, check out Senior Media & Tech Lab Analyst Olivia Lipski's review.
How we test night lights
The Good Housekeeping Institute has tested sleep products for years, from sound machines to cooling pillows and alarm clocks. For this roundup, we examined data from previous parenting awards and other consumer testing. From there we browsed the market for currently available models and honed our list down to seven models to test.
Of the seven we tested, five were plug-in, one was an electrical plate covering and one was a multipurpose night light/alarm clock. The five plug-in models were tested in our Labs for direct comparison while the other two were tested at-home through regular daily use.
In our Labs, the five selected night lights were put in our dark room (which simulates lighting conditions at different times of day and is pitch black under normal conditions). Each light's brightness was measured using a luxmeter exactly one foot from the light. A piece of white paper was taped to the desk under each light and using an app-based White Balance Kelvin Meter each light's color temperature was noted. All five lights were plugged in next to each other in the dark room and a panel of 10 GH staffers were asked to rate each night light's appearance based on its brightness, temperature and the unit itself in a blinded appearance evaluation.
Finally, the lights ran for 24 hours uninterrupted in the dark room, after which they were checked for any hot exposed elements or defects. Safety documentation was also reviewed for each of the lights.
What to look for when shopping for night lights
✔️ Color: Color is a matter of preference. Though there are studies indicating that warmer colors are less disruptive to sleep, what matters most is personal preference. Since it can be hard to know a night light's color when shopping online I've included a diagram below showing the relative temperatures of the lights I tested per our in-Lab results. While these are not graphical representations of the actual color, they're meant to show relatively how warm or cool the models are compared to each other.
✔️ Brightness: While less bright lights may contribute to better sleep, brighter lights are useful when you need to illuminate a path (like your route to the bathroom at night). Since this can also be difficult to gauge while shopping online I've included a diagram below detailing the relative brightness of the five plug-in night lights I looked at below.
✔️ Multi-purpose products: If you live in a small home or apartment you know how large of a loss even a single outlet can be. In that case, multi-purpose products like the Loftie Alarm Clock or the Nanit Sound + Light Audio Monitor (above) may cost a bit more, but will get you a lot further with fewer outlets.
✔️ Electrical safety: There are many night lights available to buy online, and despite their typically low wattage, these are still electrical appliances we're talking about. At the Good Housekeeping Institute, we recommend looking for products that bear a UL-certified or ETL-certified mark, indicating they've undergone testing at a third party laboratory for electrical safety.
FYI: The Nanit Sound + Light Audio monitor we recommend isn't pictured in the below diagrams since its color is customizable and it's dimmable, making a direct comparison difficult with traditional non-programmable night lights.
Why trust Good Housekeeping?
The Good Housekeeping Institute's Media & Tech and Home Renovation Labs has been testing and reviewing consumer electronics for years. Nikolas Greenwald is an Engineer at the Good Housekeeping Institute, where he's worked across Labs for the past three years to develop testing protocols for new product categories and managed consumer and Lab testing data storage and analytics. He spent over 30 hours researching and testing night lights both in the Lab and his home for this story, and though they haven't fixed his night owl habits, at least he's bathed in a warm glow now.
As a data engineer in the Good Housekeeping Institute, Nik (he/him) works with all of our Labs to develop testing protocols and manage data collection and analysis. Before joining Good Housekeeping in 2022, Nik worked in the labs of MIT and Regeneron, working on projects ranging from chemical inventory and reporting to the development of bioassays. He holds a degree in chemical engineering from Northeastern University.
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