So, I saw this interesting “sleep hack” post online today.
And… to be honest… I wasn’t entirely sure I trusted it.
Here it is:
As you can obviously see (unless you’re blinking too quickly and thusly missing the message), the idea’s that if you spend sixty seconds with your peepers fluttering hummingbird style, you’ll grow weary. And then you’ll fall asleep – because your eyes are tuckered out. Now, while I don’t dispute that this might totally work, I will say that I just tried it (a valiant venture, too, if I say so myself – seeing as it’s 7:00 A.M. and I’m trying to start a long day – not end it). And the only thing I got out of it was a migraine. (Maybe that’s the idea? You do it enough and you need painkillers which’ll knock you out instead?) That said, if it does work for some folk, I think I might understand why. But my theory (just a theory; don’t comment maul me if I’m wrong) is that it’s got nada to do with your peepers getting sleepy from effort. It’s the pressure around the eye, I believe, that ultimately nixes your insomnia.
See, when I was little, I’d have this strange habit, where I’d rub my closed eyes kinda hard. And my mom would say, “Don’t do that too long! It makes your heart rate slow down!” I didn’t make the connection back then, but I think that’s exactly why I was doing it. She’s right – it does slow your system’s role. And I think already-anxious micro-me understood that on an experiential level ’cause it calmed me right down.
The oculocardiac reflex is similar to the knee jerk reflex you get when the doctor taps your knee, in that it’s an involuntary, or unconscious, response to a stimulus. In this case, the stimulus is the rubbing of the eyes, which causes an increase in the pressure in and around the eyeballs. The increased pressure is relayed to the brain via a specialized nerve, called the sensory trigeminal nerve, and results in signals being sent to the heart via another nerve, called the effector vagal nerve, resulting in a decrease in heart rate.
The downside?
That you could just straight up faint yourself to sleep by trying it that way too long.
Or maybe get dead. Who knows. #notAdoctor
However, it is kinda the same idea they use for EFT therapy. (That’s “Emotional Focused Therapy” or “Emotional Freedom Technique”) What these peeps do is sit you down and have you utter affirmations that both acknowledge how you’re feeling while progressively affirming how you’re going to positively, emotionally handle it. (Something to the tune of: “Even though I’m anxious, I can become calm enough to breathe deeply and sleep.” Except more progressive.) However, in conjunction with this, you’re circling your conjunctiva as you tap – getting “trigger points” on the perimeter of the whole orbital area. (As well as a few others.) Eastern teachings might say they’re energy points. Western teachings might say it’s just close enough to the eye to induce that same relaxation response.
Either way, by pairing your newfound positive thoughts to this already relaxing body hack, it gets ingrained enough that by the next time you start finger drilling your face, you don’t even need to say the affirmations. The thought-touch association is already programmed. Thus, you get the double whammy of a relaxation response and the anti-insomnia mantras you’ve hammered in there. So there you go.
Instead’ve getting a Grade A eye-graine, let your digits – not your lids – do the twitching.
Wanna try it out tonight?
Great. Then add this badboy to your nocturnal watchlist:
(I dig him ’cause he looks like Bryan Cranston and totally mind ninjas you with that chronic yawning.)
Sweet dreams, all.