Science Explains Why You See Strange 'Swirls and Waves' in the Dark When You Close Your Eyes

You climb into bed, crawl under the covers, and close your eyes, ready to drift off. But suddenly, instead of pitch-black darkness, you see swirling, colorful spirals, as if you were looking through a kaleidoscope or watching a scene from the Disney movie Fantasia.

A common phenomenon

But you're not alone. Many people have gone on social media in a panic after experiencing similar symptoms.

You can see colorful patterns when you close your eyes. (Illustration).

One X user said: " Have you ever experienced the strange phenomenon where you can see colorful patterns when you close your eyes? Someone please tell me there is nothing wrong with my eyes."

'Yeah I have it too, it's really annoying when I'm trying to sleep,' another replied.

A third commented: "Yes!! It's like a kaleidoscope."

And a scientist has revealed the reason for this phenomenon.

Symptom

Responding to social media users' questions, Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology, Katrina Schmid, reassured that the experience was "completely normal".

She explains that there are "a number of different situations that can cause you to see colors when you close your eyes ," the first being when you're outside during the day or lying under a light source…

" Some light is still able to pass through your closed eyelids," Professor Schmid continues . "So you can see dark red because the eyelids are very vascular and this is the light that has the colour of the blood that it passes through."

However, the second case is the most common cause of swirls, colors, and patterns especially when we close our eyes in the dark.

The professor explained that she herself experienced patterns consisting of "dots and rays of light" when she first closed her eyes in the darkness and that this then increased to "swirls and waves of colored dots" the longer she stayed in it.

Associate Professor Katrina Schmid of Queensland University of Technology.

Reason

But why does this phenomenon exist? The term is "phosphenes" , a normal part of how the eye works and is "a sensation of light that is not actually caused by light".

' Our eyes don't 'turn off' in the dark , but instead produce very weak internal signals that mimic light ,' says Professor Schmid. 'These signals are constantly being produced by cells at the back of your eye.

The swirls and waves we see are created by changes in the activity of these cells. The "light" spots can appear colored because the cells in your eyes that detect color also show this activity.

These signals are transmitted to the brain and the brain interprets this random activity. Your brain doesn't know that the signals above are not created by real light, so we think we are seeing colored light and patterns that are not there. It's a kind of illusion !".

Generally, such hallucinations are nothing to worry about, however, if your hallucinations become "much more pronounced" and "the light patterns become much more noticeable or last longer" then it may be a sign that you should consult an ophthalmologist.