Credits: Social Media
Scientist explains what the crusty ‘sleep’ in your eyes actually is
Waking up in the morning and wiping away the crusty yellow gunk from around our eyes is part of everyday life for most of us but have you ever wondered what the substance – sometimes known as ‘sleep’ – actually is?
The flaky crust that is typically found in the inner corner of the eyes is officially called rheum but many will know it by nicknames such as sleep, sleepy dust, eye gunk or eye crust to name but a few.
Scientist explains what the crusty ‘sleep’ in your eyes actually is
In a video posted to TikTok via @huberman.clipss, neuroscientist and podcaster Andrew Huberman revealed what that yellowy gunk is and why it forms while were asleep.
“If you have ever woken up in the morning and you have some crust on your eyes, Huberman began. You know that crust, that kind of yellowy stuff, sometimes it’s yellow, I know this is kind of gross.
That’s actually dead bacteria that your eyes have successfully defeated during your night’s sleep, the scientist added. So when you wipe those away, you’re taking the casualties of a war that you won during your night’s sleep and you’re whisking those away.”
Maybe having a war taking place on our eyelids explains why we always feel groggy in the morning no matter how much sleep weve had.
The University of Utah Health offers a slightly more detailed explanation of what exactly makes up the sleep that forms around our eye, saying that its a mixture of mucus, exfoliated skin cells, oils and tears that collect in the corner of the eye while sleeping.
During the day, these would all be cleared away by the act of blinking but as the eye stays shut at night, the perfectly natural substance begins to form.
Social media reacts
Its safe to say that learning what the gunk around our eyes really is has prompted quite a reaction from viewers on social media.
I refuse to lose even when Im sleeping, commented one TikTok user.
A second added: I have that yellow stuff every day lol.
Thats why I feel tired after sleeping? My bodys been in war, said a third.
This commenter said: I must win so much because one time my eyes were fully covered and I couldnt see.
A fifth has had an unusual experience with sleep in the past: Sometimes I don’t get much if I sleep all the way through. But if I wake for the loo then sleep again for a few hours I wake up with loads.
And finally, this commenter had a question for other TikTok users: Who else started rubbing their eyes to crust check?
