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Doctors say the eye-rolling hack can work when you’re lying in the dark at 3 a.m., eyes wide open, trying to get back to sleep.
Health and wellness social media creator Heather Gordon backs up that advice: this trick is worth a shot. Gordon, who shares health and wellness content under the handle Pretty Sick Heather, posted a video detailing the technique.
How Does It Work?
Close your eyes. Perform a series of rolling eye movements without opening them. Start by looking down, then shift your gaze to the center. Look left, return to center, look right, and return to center again.
But that’s not all. After looking up, roll your eyes clockwise, then counterclockwise. Finally, direct your gaze toward your nose as if you’re “cross-eyed.”
“You’ll do this as soon as you wake up and keep repeating the exercise until you fall asleep again. I’ve never managed to get through more than two cycles of the exercise without dozing off,” the blogger shared.
What Have Social Media Users Said About Their Experience?
In the comments, many of Heather Gordon’s followers reported that the hack helped them.
One user wrote, “It took me three cycles, but then I felt myself starting to drift off.” Meanwhile, another woman testified that this exercise helped her “sleep longer than ever,” according to the Daily Mail.
There’s a science-based explanation for this
Danish cardiologist Willem Gielen wrote on Medium that rolling your eyes is linked to the release of melatonin — a hormone that regulates our sleep-wake cycles.
By consciously rolling your eyes upward, you may trigger this natural process and encourage your body to begin the sleep cycle.
Doctors warn that prolonged sleep deprivation can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.
Insomnia can be caused by stress, anxiety, alcohol, caffeine, nicotine, noise, shift work, and changes in time zones.
If you regularly struggle with sleep, try simple ways to improve sleep hygiene. Keep a consistent sleep schedule, create a calm and comfortable sleep environment, and stay active during the day.
