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Health

25th Jan 2024

People baffled after discovering what yellow ‘sleep’ in eyes when you wake up really is

Callum Boyle

Sleep in eye

Not a wake-up call I want anymore

Sleep, it’s great isn’t it?

That feeling of your head hitting the pillow and worrying about nothing throughout the night only to be disturbed by the alarm clock the next day. That part, not so fun.

One of the worst parts of when we wake up from our deep sleep is that yellow crust that can be found in the corner of our eyes that we call ‘sleep’.

But, what actually is it?

One TikTok has revealed that what yellow gunk actually is, allowing us all to rest easy in the future.

Andrew Huberman explains: “If you have ever woken up in the morning and you have some crust on your eyes.

“And 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.

“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.”

@hubermanfanpage

Crust On Your Eyes #andrewhubberman #podcast #eyes #crust #usa

♬ original sound – Huberman Fan Page

So there we have it. That yellow gunk is stuff your body has successfully fought off and helped to stop you from getting ill.

Medical News Today and the Cleveland Clinic say the crust in your eyes is actually a combination of dead skin cells, dirt, dust, oil and mucus.

Yeah, delightful.

While awake we blink all of this away but when asleep with our eyes closed it begins to build up and dry out, creating the yellowy-coloured gunk we find in the morning.

“Starting the day with a victory,” said one person reacting to the video.

“I have that yellow stuff every day lol,” said a second.

A third commented: “Damn, I thought I had bad eye hygiene because I always have this, even when I wash them before bed.”

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