This “Eye Roll” Sleep Hack Will Help You Beat Restless Nights

It’s so stressful to wake up in the middle of the night, especially when you know you have a busy day ahead and need as many Zs as you can get. Instead of panicking and watching the clock, many people on TikTok are simply rolling their eyes.

The “eye roll” sleep hack is currently going viral as one of the easiest and most effective ways to fall back asleep. After getting comfy in bed, all you have to do is close your eyes and look right, left, up, and down before rolling your peepers in a circle one way and then the other. The pattern is said to help you calm down and make it easier to snooze.

In a viral clip posted July 22, creator @jenna_coak said, “I’ve tried it a couple nights in a row and it literally works. It’s the best trick I’ve ever tried. One night I swear I did it twice and I remember thinking, ‘No way is this going to work,’ and the next thing I knew it was 7:30 and my alarm was going off.”

In her comments, someone joked, “This sounds like Ctrl+Alt+Delete for your consciousness.” Another wrote, “So all these years of being awake for hours after waking up in the middle of the night and I could’ve just done an Xbox controller cheat code to fall back asleep?” Here’s why it works, according to sleep experts, as well as tips for giving it a try.

Why The “Eye Roll” Sleep Hack Works

It doesn’t matter if you wake up at 3 a.m. or are just getting into bed — rolling your eyes could be the fastest way to drift off to dreamland. According to Leah Kaylor, Ph.D., MSCP, a licensed psychologist and sleep expert, one of the reasons it works is because it’s a low-effort way to distract yourself.

“Worrying about not sleeping is one of the biggest barriers to falling back asleep,” she tells Bustle. “A simple trick [like this] gives your brain something calming to focus on instead of spiraling thoughts, which helps break the stress-sleep cycle.”

As you roll your eyes in a circle, it redirects your attention, and just like that, you fall asleep. “Sometimes, the simplest tools are the most powerful,” she says. “It’s a low-effort, no-cost tool — so if it helps, use it.”

Some say rolling your eyes also mimics what happens during rapid eye movement, or REM, sleep when your eyes shift and flutter as you dream. According to Dr. Danielle Wall, M.D., a medical advisor for Sit ‘N Sleep, repeating the same swirling motion could send a calming signal to your brain and also help activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which shifts your body out of fight-or-flight and into a more relaxed state.

How To Roll Your Eyes

The eye roll trick is super simple: close your eyes and slowly move them right, left, up, down. Then, roll them in a circle in one direction, then the other. “You can repeat this gently while lying in bed to help fall asleep,” says Kaylor.

If it doesn’t work right away, that’s OK. “You can [do it again] for a minute or two or longer, if it helps,” she says. “There’s no harm in gently continuing until you feel drowsy.”

Pairing the eye movement with deep breathing can also help ease you into sleep, Kaylor says. Breathe in slowly, let it all out, and hopefully the next thing you’ll see will be morning.

Source:

Leah Kaylor, Ph.D. MSCP, psychologist, sleep expert

Dr. Danielle Wall, M.D., medical advisor for Sit ‘N Sleep