Not being able to get to sleep can be incredible frustrating.
You can often find yourself lying there thinking of ways to drift off, from counting sheep to anything that might possibly do the trick. Some people have raved about hot herbal tea, while others might suggest reading a book or listening to a podcast.
But The Mirror reports there is a new way people have sworn by. The bizarre “cricketing” method has been proven to help people fall into a deep slumber, and it’s become a viral trend on TikTok with many praising the unusual way of falling asleep by rubbing your feet together – just like a cricket.
Experts say cricketing is even backed by science. Its trick is that rubbing your feet together acts as a self-soothing technique.
To explain the bizarre technique, licensed acupuncturist, Chinese herbalist, and physical therapist Dr Eileen Li, PT, DPT, L.Ac, shared how by stimulating your feet can help your body to “self-regulate” as well as help to “calm your central nervous system”.
Dr Eileen says the feet are “full of nerve endings and an array of acupressure points, that, when stimulated, are known to help regulate and calm your central nervous system,” according to Bustle. So rubbing your feet and toes together, can help give you an acupuncture massage aiding you to fall asleep quickly.
The trend has now become a popular method among TikTok users. One woman posted about the sleep hack asking “who else was laying in bed cricketing their feet”.
One TikToker commented it was “life-changing” while another user said they had been doing it all of their life.
Writing alongside her video, @notyouraveragethrpst wrote: “I just learned about this and never realised I did it before,” as she turned the camera to show her feet rubbing against each other while in bed.