# Why do children rub their eyes when they're tired? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 13, 2000, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976 "2000-11-13T08:13:33Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sue\_Duhnym](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/91b2a8/32.png) [@Sue\_Duhnym](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sue_Duhnym)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2000, 8:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/1 "2000-11-13T08:13:33Z")
In this thread, [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46096](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?threadid=46096) I asked, > [@](#): > > Why do children rub their eyes when they’re tired? Is there some sort of physiological reason? I don’t do it but I’m usually wearing makeup that I don’t want to smear, so may have conditioned myself out of it. Can it be as simple as eye strain? What about visually impaired people? What do you think? ---
**Author:** ![Reboot42](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Reboot42](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reboot42)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2000, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/2 "2000-11-13T10:37:58Z")
Because they slightly burn or itch. I recall being a kid and getting tired and my eyes feeling like there was a bit of fine dust in them and rubbing made them feel better. ---
**Author:** ![Uniball](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/e5b9ba/32.png) [@Uniball](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uniball)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2000, 10:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/3 "2000-11-13T10:57:46Z")
Not only children do that. I do that too, usually to scare away the sleep. Never works, of course. ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [November 13, 2000, 11:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/4 "2000-11-13T23:25:46Z")
I do this all the time. Makes my face feel better, or something. Sometimes I rub my nose with my palm, too. jb ---
**Author:** ![evilbeth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/evilbeth/32/2268_2.png) [@evilbeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/evilbeth)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 5:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/5 "2000-11-14T05:22:52Z")
Well, I don’t know about you guys but when I get really tired, my eyes start accumulating all this gunky stuff that I have to wipe away. I actually have trouble seeing through all the cloudy stuff. It is actual eye gunk (TMI–the white stuff that collects in the corners of your eyes while you are sleeping) not just a mental thing. My eyes apparently produce more of this stuff than the average person so if I don’t keep wiping my eyes not only will I not be able to see anything, they will actual kind of be glued/cemented shut with all the gunk. Lovely image, no? ---
**Author:** ![Boris\_B](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/fbc32d/32.png) [@Boris\_B](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boris_B)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 6:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/6 "2000-11-14T06:41:25Z")
I always kind of thought it was because the tear ducts get “tired”. So they produce less tears to keep your eyes most, since they haven’t had all night to rest, and your eyes get dry and irritable. Rubbing your eyes makes your tear ducts produce more tears, at least temporarily. I don’t know if that’s true though. I’ll have to ask a tear duct. ---
**Author:** ![Walloon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/fbc32d/32.png) [@Walloon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Walloon)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 7:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/7 "2000-11-14T07:21:34Z")
That’s funny – I just took my contacts out and gave my eyes a good rubbing, before putting on my eyeglasses and returning to my computer to read this question. I have always rubbed my eyes at the end of a day. It’s like giving your feet a good scratching after you take your socks off. Why let kids have all the fun? ---
**Author:** ![ricepad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b38774/32.png) [@ricepad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ricepad)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 7:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/8 "2000-11-14T07:24:20Z")
Because it makes 'em so damn cute when they do that…unless they’re cranky, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Persephone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@Persephone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Persephone)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/9 "2000-11-14T07:30:05Z")
I personally think it’s eye strain, but I’m no expert. Another thing I always wondered about is why some kids pull or rub their _ears_ when they’re tired. My son and my nephew both do this. I’ve seen lots of other little kids that do it as well. Anyone got a clue? ---
**Author:** ![jb\_farley](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9d8465/32.png) [@jb\_farley](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jb_farley)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/10 "2000-11-14T16:37:15Z")
Watching too many Carol Burnett reruns in daycare? ---
**Author:** ![Balance](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/ccd318/32.png) [@Balance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Balance)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/11 "2000-11-14T18:41:50Z")
\ IIRC, the itchy/sandy feeling is caused by dilated blood vessels (they dilate in response to fatigue; increased blood flow helps carry away more fatigue toxins and supply more oxygen). Pressure on the eyes, and therefore on the vessels, reduces vessel diameter again and provides a bit of temporary relief. It feels as if you’ve rubbed the “sand” away. Anything that briefly increases the oxygen content of your blood has a similar effect. \ ---
**Author:** ![Anachronism](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e56c9b/32.png) [@Anachronism](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anachronism)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/12 "2000-11-14T19:45:04Z")
> [@](#): > > It is actual eye gunk (TMI–the white stuff that collects in the corners of your eyes while you are sleeping) not just a mental thing. The technical term is Eye-boogers. ---
**Author:** ![rowrrbazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rowrrbazzle/32/414_2.png) [@rowrrbazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rowrrbazzle)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 10:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/13 "2000-11-14T22:13:46Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Persephone \* > Another thing I always wondered about is why some kids pull or rub their _ears_ when they’re tired. My son and my nephew both do this. I’ve seen lots of other little kids that do it as well. Anyone got a clue? That’s interesting. I’ve become prone to ear infections in the past few years. When I stay up very late or I’m short of sleep, I feel a slight discomfort in my ears exactly like the very earliest symptoms of an earache. If I catch up on my sleep, the symptoms disappear. I’m not a doctor, but I’ve always assumed lack of sleep suppresses the immune system slightly, allowing problems to develop. Maybe that’s what’s happenning with these kids. Re the sandy feeling, the Sandman was a figure in children’s stories who threw sand in their eyes which made them sleepy. He was also used in a couple of Silly Symphonies and some other cartoons of that era. ---
**Author:** ![warmgun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/ecccb3/32.png) [@warmgun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/warmgun)\ **Post date:** [November 14, 2000, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/14 "2000-11-14T23:03:53Z")
Because before puberty, it feels better than rubbing your penis. ---
**Author:** ![JamesCarroll](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/5daacb/32.png) [@JamesCarroll](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JamesCarroll)\ **Post date:** [November 15, 2000, 3:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-children-rub-their-eyes-when-theyre-tired/40976/15 "2000-11-15T03:47:00Z")
\ Q: Why do women rub their eyes when they wake up? A: 'cuz they ain’t got balls to scratch! \ Running for the pit… jc