# Is it unhealthy to cross your eyes? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 17, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018 "2003-10-17T15:01:35Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![cainxinth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/7bcc69/32.png) [@cainxinth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cainxinth)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 3:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/1 "2003-10-17T15:01:35Z")
I have a friend who can move her eyes in ways I think evolution never intended them to. She can look in two different directions at once and cross them at painful looking angles. I tell her to stop, but she insists there’s nothing wrong with crossing your eyes… What’s the SD? ---
**Author:** ![Matchka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/77aa72/32.png) [@Matchka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Matchka)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/2 "2003-10-17T18:48:40Z")
Well…they could stick that way! I have one humorless friend (just one, to keep me grounded) who insists that once when she was young, she crossed her eyes at her mom and was unable to correct them. When she woke up the next day she was fine. I believe her because she has the Star Trek Vulcan’s inability to misrepresent a fact. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 7:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/3 "2003-10-17T19:10:37Z")
The only thing I could think of is that doing it continually in one sitting would give you a dreadful headache! ---
**Author:** ![ParentalAdvisory](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/53a042/32.png) [@ParentalAdvisory](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ParentalAdvisory)\ **Post date:** [October 17, 2003, 9:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/4 "2003-10-17T21:31:42Z")
Nah Nah I I think think it it would would be be fine fine… ---
**Author:** ![Church\_Key\_Kid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f9ae1b/32.png) [@Church\_Key\_Kid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Church_Key_Kid)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/5 "2003-10-18T18:48:39Z")
How is crossing one’s eyes different than moving both eyes in unison? You’re not looking in any direction that you wouldn’t be able to normally; you’re just looking in that direction with just one eye. ---
**Author:** ![Joe\_Random](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e8c25b/32.png) [@Joe\_Random](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joe_Random)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 7:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/6 "2003-10-18T19:33:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fatdave \* > **How is crossing one’s eyes different than moving both eyes in unison?** It’s not. Put your finger _really_ close to your face. Focus your eyes on it. Congratulations, you just crossed your eyes. Crossing your eyes is a normal part of the action of focusing on very close objects; It’s not some freakish ability that should not be done. Of course, everything in moderation. I would imagine that crossing your eyes for extended periods of time could cause problems, if only a headache. ---
**Author:** ![fortytwo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f9ae1b/32.png) [@fortytwo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fortytwo)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/7 "2003-10-18T20:22:49Z")
It can be really unhealthy doing it while driving IMHO 🙂 V ---
**Author:** ![Sqube](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/aca169/32.png) [@Sqube](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sqube)\ **Post date:** [October 18, 2003, 11:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/8 "2003-10-18T23:36:23Z")
From someone who does it from time to time, when you do it for extended periods it does create a kind of ache behind the eyes (at least as far as I’m concerned). My eyes haven’t ever really stuck though… if anything, it seems to get a little _harder_ to cross them, as if my eyes are telling me they’ve had enough. I still do it though, cuz nobody tells me what to do! …Except my mom. ---
**Author:** ![Pigs\_in\_Space](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/9d8465/32.png) [@Pigs\_in\_Space](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pigs_in_Space)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 5:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/9 "2003-10-19T05:32:50Z")
I can cross my eyes (like **Joe Random** said) and move them independently. Well, I’m a little out of practice, but I can still do a pretty good job. It does start to ache after a while. My Mom, of course, always hated this. One time she brought it up to the eye doctor. He said that it was ok, and probably meant that I have strong eye muscles. Mom never mentioned it again. ---
**Author:** ![Moe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moe/32/2972_2.png) [@Moe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moe)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 5:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/10 "2003-10-19T05:55:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by fatdave \* > \*\*How is crossing one’s eyes different than moving both eyes in unison? You’re not looking in any direction that you wouldn’t be able to normally; you’re just looking in that direction with just one eye. \*\* It seems to me that it’s more about the muscles your using, rather than anything unique to eye-crossing. When I cross my eyes as much as possible I feel my muscles being worked, same as I do when I look to the extreme left with both eyes or any other direction in unison. After a few minutes those muscles really want to rest. I’d guess you could strain those muscles if you held it too long and hard, but I really don’t know. ---
**Author:** ![thatDDperson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/9de0a6/32.png) [@thatDDperson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thatDDperson)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 12:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/11 "2003-10-19T12:01:23Z")
Oh, man…My Mom spent thousands of dollars in the 60’s trying to get me to be able to cross my eyes. It’s muscles. Simply put, if someone can move their eyes independently of each other, it’s because they have more coordination in their eye muscles and can isolate the actions of the individual muscles. And like any other muscle, the overuse will lead to mild soreness and eventually to strengthened muscles. ---
**Author:** ![Fear\_Itself](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fear_itself/32/19637_2.png) [@Fear\_Itself](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Fear_Itself)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/12 "2003-10-19T15:59:01Z")
How many of you crossed your eyes after reading the title of this thread? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 4:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/13 "2003-10-19T16:01:02Z")
. . . According to famous cross-eyed silent-film comedian Ben Turpin, at least. He actually had only _one_ crossed eye, which he said happened after years of playing the cross-eyed “Happy Hooligan” onstage. One morning he got up and one of his eyes wouldn’t uncross. That was _his_ story, anyhoo . . . ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/14 "2003-10-19T21:05:03Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Fear Itself \* > \*\*How many of you crossed your eyes after reading the title of this thread? \*\* Me! Me! Did it again after reading your post too 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Cervaise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cervaise/32/16693_2.png) [@Cervaise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cervaise)\ **Post date:** [October 19, 2003, 11:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/is-it-unhealthy-to-cross-your-eyes/208018/15 "2003-10-19T23:48:49Z")
eyes My right crossed are now.