Waking up at night? A life hack that will instantly bring you back to sleep
Heather Gordon, who shares health and wellness content with her 16 000 TikTok followers under the name Pretty Sick Heather, shared a video detailing a trick that she says always works. The video has already garnered 2.6 million views.
@prettysickheather Sleep Hacks, Sleep Tips, Sleep Routine, Wellness Tips, Insomnia, Menopause, Women Over 40, Women Over 50, Over 40, Over 50, GenX #sleep #sleephacks #insomnia #sleeptime #sleeproutine #womenover40 #womenover50 #menopause #genx #menopause #wellness ♬ original sound - Pretty Sick Heather
In the video, she asks viewers to start by closing their eyes. The next step is to perform a series of eye movements while keeping your eyes closed.
First, you look down at the floor, then back to the center. Next, look all the way to the left before bringing them back to the center, then to the right. Then roll your eyes back to the center.
She then asks her followers to look all the way up again before rolling their eyes clockwise, then counterclockwise. Finally, to finish, look toward the bridge of your nose, as if you were trying to look 'cross-eyed'.
And science suggests there's something to it, as research shows that eye movements can increase levels of the sleep hormone melatonin.
"You are going to do this as soon as you find yourself awake in the night and you are going to repeat it until you fall back asleep," she said.
As noted by Daily Mail, long-term sleep deprivation can lead to obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease. Insomnia can be caused by stress, anxiety, alcohol, caffeine or nicotine, noise, shift work and jet lag.
If you regularly have trouble sleeping, there are simple ways to improve your sleep hygiene. This includes maintaining a regular sleep routine, staying active during the day and creating a calm, quiet place to sleep.
Author – Nuray Kapen