For babies and young children, sleep is when a lot of their development occurs, so as well as giving them time for their body to build up its energy levels again, it’s also when a lot of the important developmental changes happen.
For adults, it’s not just a chance for you to rest and energize physically, but sleep gives your brain time to rest too. Not having enough sleep can have a huge impact on your mental well-being.
Many people, particularly young children, find it hard to sleep in completely dark rooms because they have a fear of the dark. Although rarer, a fear of the dark can sometimes affect adults too.
You’ll sometimes find that people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder have trouble sleeping in a completely blacked out room and need a source of light. Although some people wonder should you sleep with a light on, we want to tell you about the benefits on night lights and share with you the best night lights currently on the market.
Another reason why you might buy a night light is simply that you need some visibility during the night if you need to get up to use the toilet or are prone to having a drink. This is particularly important with the elderly and infirm or if you have mobility issues.
Moving around in the dark is often hard enough for the average healthy person, but with physical issues, it can be dangerous. So if you’re in the market for a night light for any of the above reasons, we’ve put together a list of what we feel are the top 10 best LED night lights money can buy.
Table of Contents
Best LED Night Light – Our Top 10 Picks
As well as discussing each individual product briefly, we’ll also provide pros and cons about them, so that you have the fullest picture possible and can make the most informed decision about which is best for you.
Further to that, you’ll also find a short, but helpful buying guide at the bottom of this page that will hopefully fill in any gaps you may have when trying to make a choice.
1. Athena Futures 3D Moon Night Light
The first item on our list is an amazing 3D printed moon. Not only is it a delight to look at and marvel at the detail, but it also lights up with three different colors. Roseate, yellow and white.
To give you further control over the settings, each can be dimmed to meet your specific preferences. You can charge it via USB or just keep it plugged in at all times. It’s ideal for both children’s rooms and your own bedroom, particularly if it matches the overall theme of the room.
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Why We Liked Them
- Beautiful design
- Bright with three different colors to choose from
- Easy to use
2. GE Ultra Brite Motion-Activated LED Light
This GE motion-activated ultra-brite LED light is another energy-saving form of illumination. If you do not like sleeping with light then this model is just what you are looking for.
It only works when necessary and when the motion sensor detects movement, around 2ft away, so you don’t need to worry about it being on all the time.
It turns itself off again if it detects no activity for a 90 seconds period. As it’s an LED bulb, it has an incredibly long life and despite itself is capable of producing light with a brightness of 40 lumens.
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Why We Liked Them
- Good for larger rooms
- Warm temperature- soft white
- Auto dusk to dawn
3. Reminda 4-Pack Nightlight Lamp with Dusk to Dawn Sensor
From Reminda comes the first nightlight on our list. This is an ideal nightlight for if you are after style that will add to your decor as it has a very slick and sophisticated look. It has a very compact plug so it won’t block other outlets if plugged into a double socket like some plug-in lights and other items have a habit of doing.
These make a great practical light for hallways, bathrooms in fact, anywhere around your home, especially as it comes in a pack of 4. Find your way to bed without waking the whole family by turning on your main lights if your bedtime routine is different from theirs.
If you want it for a nightlight for kids’ room then we would advise that you opt for yellow or red version as these colors do not disturb sleep as much, yet they give off a lovely glow for the child’s reassurance.
Automatic by design, these LED plug-in night lights have a built-in photocell sensor so the light will turn on automatically when the sensor detects that it is getting dark and will switch itself off again at dawn or when there’s enough ambient light.
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Why We Liked Them
- Great value for money 4-pack
- Low power consumption
- Available in different colors
4. Decorsmart Papercut 3D Shadow Box Led Light Night Lamp
This is a beautiful product that doubles as a great piece of artwork and a wall night light for your room. Rather than just being straightforward this light features a backdrop of an appealing and well-crafted picture of a unicorn.
Any big fan of unicorns will just think this is the best plug in night light ever. This will be a delightful addition as its one of the LED lights for kids and perfect as a baby night light.
The light has a softer yellow glow but with enough light. It also features brightness and sleep timer settings so you have full control. To give you even more functionality of this aesthetically pleasing product there’s a remote control included.
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Why We Liked Them
- A beautiful way to add a light feature into a bedroom
- Well-crafted
- Comes with remote control
5. Witshine Rechargeable 16-Color Toilet Plug In NightLights
Okay, strictly speaking, this is not one of the plug-in types and runs on battery power. The next product we want to talk about may not be designed for around the house but is definitely the best night lamp for the bathroom.
This model is still just as helpful and practical and fits into your toilet bowl and provides illumination for those trips that most of us have to make in the middle of the night. It lights up automatically when it senses you’re near, thanks to the 160-degree motion detection.
There’s a lot of great features that make it worth considering, including the fact that it rotates through a full range of 16 different colors and tones and has a dimmer that offers five different levels of brightness. The bottom line is there will be fewer accidents when trying to stumble to the toilet half asleep.
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Why We Liked Them
- 16 different colors and 5 brightness levels
- USB charging
- One charge lasts up to two weeks
6. Sycees Plug-in LED Night Light Light
These wall night lights are the Sycees Plug-ins and they offer a great lighting solution that is bright enough to illuminate a room so you can see where you are going without needing to turn on brighter and more powerful lights that can dazzle the eyes during the night.
This is one of the styles that is probably not the best nightlight for sleeping with and are definitely not baby night lights, but that being said these are just perfect for around the home and works well for a soft overnight white light solution, whether it be in hallways, on the stairs or even in the bathrooms
As is the case with many others on our list, this option has a built-in dusk to dawn sensor, which means in addition to being handy for users this light switches itself on automatically when it is dark enough and turns itself off again when dawn comes around.
Thanks to its compact design, another feature is that it plugs directly into a socket but won’t block access to others at the same outlet point.
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Why We Liked Them
- Compact plug-in design
- Dawn to dusk sensor
- Comes in affordable 6-pack
7. Meridian Electric LED Auto Night Light 4-Pack
Next up for our night light review is the Meridian Electric LED automatic 4-pack of LED night lamp. This is another great white light plug-in that automatically turns on at night and off when it is daylight again.
Even though it’s relatively small in design, it still provides 5 lumens of illumination which is bright enough to give you a safe amount of light when visibility is poor at night to help you move around your home safely without relying on brighter main lights that are harsh on the eyes when you have just woken.
This ideal for hallways, stairs and any room in the home.
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Why We Liked Them
- 5 lumens of light each
- Money-saving 4-pack
- Bright enough for safety
8. Juneta Goodnight Owl Nightlight for Children & Toddlers
As you can probably tell from the accompanying image and name, this model is specifically one of the nightlights for babies or for small children. The Juneta Goodnight Owl nightlight is a completely BPA-free silicone designed form of illumination that, as the name says, resembles a very cute owl.
With it, you can provide your little ones with the benefits of nine different vibrant and attractive colors with a variety of different lighting modes and five different brightness levels. In addition to all that it has a money-saving auto-off function.
With a remote control included and the batteries can be charged via a USB cable. The bottom line is, as nightlights for youngsters go we think this option has it all and will set the mood for bedtime.
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Why We Liked Them
- Nine different colors
- Five brightness levels
- BPA-free materials and no sharp edges
9. AUSAYE LED Plug In Night Light Lamp Mushroom
Another great and quirky option available for you whether you are looking for nightlights to use in either your own bedroom or a child’s. This Mushroom night light is from AUSAYE and lights up in seven different colors.
Like many of the others on our list, this is a dusk to dawn option that turns the light on and off automatically, depending on the amount of light in a room. You simply just plug it in and it’s good to go.
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Why We Liked Them
- A quirky and fun mushroom design ideal for a baby night light
- Seven different lights
- Auto dawn to dusk
10. AUSAYE 2-Pack Mushroom Plug In Night Light
Another mushroom design, but much smaller than the previously that we listed, but again from AUSAYE. This is a small, palm-sized mushroom night light with three different mushroom sprouts that light up in a range of seven different colors, these are not just night lights they are part of your decor and pleasing on the eyes.
The level of brightness it produces to light up the darkness is surprising considering its diminutive design. It is also a great choice if there are double outlets throughout your house, as it won’t take up the space required to use the other plug sockets. So for bed time or hallways, these quirky little mushrooms will brighten your room.
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Why We Liked Them
- Cute design and size
- Reasonably bright
- Automatic on and off
For a quick recap, here’s our top 3 best LED Night Lights:
- Built-in Light Sensor
- 6 Pack
- Compact Size
- Amazon's Choice
- Motion-Sensing Light
- Modern Design
- Energy Efficient
- Different Colors Available
- 3 Color Moon Lamp
- Remote Control
- USB Charging
- Up to 8h of Light
Night Light Buying Guide
As there are a wide variety of different LED plug-in night lights available these days, it is worth looking at some of the important considerations you need to make when choosing one.
Location of Power Outlets in Your Rooms
Before you choose the right night light for your child’s or your own room, you need to look at the layout of the room and look at the different electrical outlets you have and their position in relation to your or your child’s bed or cot.
If the outlets are too close or too far away from your bed or your child’s bed, you may find that the light is not sufficient or too bright. It may be better in this situation to choose a portable battery-powered version or one that has a power cord.
Does it Have a Timer?
Many plug-in nightlights feature a timer, which is incredibly useful as it means the light will switch off or turn on at specific times. It can be helpful, if you’re a parent, to not have to worry about remembering to switch it on in the evening and to turn it off again in the morning.
Particularly as it could help avoid paying for electricity you didn’t want to use and didn’t need.
Does it Have a Light Sensor?
Following nicely from the above, it’s also a good idea to check if the model you are looking at has a dusk to dawn light technology. This means the light will only turn on when daylight or other artificial light is detected and turn off again when there is enough ambient light.
Again this means it saves money because you will only be paying for the electricity you are actually using.
Type of Bulb To Use
You should also think carefully about the kind of bulb used in any wall night light. Many contain bulbs that need to be replaced. While others are designed with the bulb fused to the light. The 10 we featured above, all utilize LED bulbs that do not need to be replaced for an extremely long time because they last a lot longer than traditional bulbs.
The kind of bulb also plays a part in how hot the light surface could get. For example, LED bulbs do not give off much excess heat, whereas incandescent can get hot to touch. You should check that any light you purchase has a safety mark and has passed all safety checks.
Brightness of the Light
Brightness is obviously something you should be concerned with as well The idea of a night light, after all, is to provide gentle illumination for the room you are lighting, so you need to make sure the one you choose is not too brightest having one that is too bright or white could lead to broken sleep or not enough sleep at all. Orange or red light is the best to have if you are using in a bedroom as a bright nightlight as they can disturb natural melatonin production which aids sleep.
Additional Features To Look Out For
Although it’s true that the primary function of night lights is to provide gentle illumination for a room to help with moving around in the darkness of the night or because of a fear of the dark, there are other features that you will find on some models that can be helpful.
These include:
- Handles that make it easy for you or child to carry them around, if necessary
- Light bulbs with dimmer functions and changing colors
- White noise machines or music boxes to encourage sleep
- Thermometers to help you keep track of the temperature
- Motion sensor for those that don’t like a light on all night
While the above are useful to have, they are actually only useful and worth the money if you will find a use for them. This is why you need to have a clear idea of what you are looking for. If you are just looking for a simple little light that will provide illumination during the night but don’t need an alarm or thermometer, look for one that is just a basic light.
Hopefully, you now have a good idea of the kind of light you need to buy, whether it’s a wall night light or freestanding version.
Frequently Asked Questions About Night Lights
We hope you have enjoyed our reviews above and now have some idea of what is available and what you are looking for. We will now answer some questions that we get asked a lot and hope these will help you further.
What color night light is best for sleeping?
The warmer end of the color spectrum such as red light or orange is the best color night light for sleeping. Studies have been done and the reds and oranges came out best as they do not tend to act as a stimulant to the brain or disturb the sleep cycle, unlike the colder white or blue light colors.
Is it good to sleep with a night light?
Having a night light in the bedroom is fantastic for seeing where the bathroom is in the night but is it good to sleep with a nightlight? Although very practical the nightlight can disturb natural melatonin production which is the hormone that promotes sleep.
If, like a lot of people, you really feel that you need a night light actually in the bedroom then always try to opt for a red or orange option. If you can, place the nightlight in the bathroom or hallway so you just get a soft amber glow. The bottom line is, a dark room is always best for sleeping and recharging your batteries after a long day.
Is it safe to leave a light on all night?
It is perfectly safe to leave a light on all night, especially a night light. The worst that can happen is that the bulb expires, fires are usually caused by electrical faults and not the overheating of bulbs.
However, do be careful with lamps, always ensure that the correct wattage bulb is fitted and that there are no warnings about prolonged use.
