why do we instinctively rub our eyes when we are tired? Can be easily noticed in toddlers and babies, but I have also observed it in animals.
In: Biology
Our eyes become dry when we are tired, and rubbing them stimulates more fluid production from the lacrimal glands to wet them again, which reduces the itchy feeling of dry eyes
Why if I pull an all nighter, my eyes dont get dry?
I’ve seen this question posed here before and the answer then was regarding the oculocardiac reflex. Basically when you press on your eyes it slows your heart. I don’t know if anyone answered why exactly they do it, other than it being instinctual, but the net effect is that it calms them and prepares them for sleep.
I also remember someone saying that law enforcement might do this to someone to calm them. But also that it’s dangerous because it can cause the heart to beat too slow (Bradycardia).
You can do a deeper dive into this by googling Oculocardiac reflex.
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