Does Tying a Sweatshirt Around Your Head Help You Sleep?

Sleep Hackers Jump on the Latest TikTok Trend

Updated April 16, 2024

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In recent years, TikTok sleep trends have brought bed rotting, hurkle-durkling, and the “sleepy girl mocktail” into public awareness. But sleeping with a sweatshirt tied around your head may be the most unusual TikTok sleep trend yet.

In January, TikTok content creator Callie Galey posted a video in which she ties a sweatshirt around her head before sleeping. In the short video, Galey says this sweatshirt sleep hack has given her “the best sleep of my life.”

While tying a sweatshirt around your head before sleeping might sound silly, not everyone is taking the advice as a joke. Over the past three months, Galey’s video has received nearly 2.5 million likes and more than 10,000 comments. Many of the comments are by people indicating they want to try the trend, with one TikTok user saying the sleep hack “looks so insane,” but adding that they are “100% trying it tonight.”

Online publications are also taking the sweatshirt sleep hack somewhat seriously, with outlets like Bustle and the New York Post covering the viral trend.

There’s no universe where I’m going to tell people to wrap a sweatshirt around their head and tie it around their neck.

Dr. Michael J. Breus, Ph.D.
SleepDoctor.com

In the TikTok video, Galey holds up a sweatshirt, then folds it in half vertically. She wraps the torso portion of the sweatshirt over her eyes and the top of her head. She then lies down on her back and wraps the sleeves around her neck. Most of her head is covered by the sweatshirt, but her nose and mouth remain exposed. About the hack, Galey says, “It’s so comfortable. I don’t know how to explain it, but it works wonders!”

Reactions by doctors and sleep health experts to the viral video have been mixed. Dr. Jessica Andrade, a Massachusetts-based physician, told Bustle that the pressure of the wrapped sweatshirt may provide comfort, similar to the way swaddling soothes a baby or how weighted blankets relax adults and older children.

On the flip side, Dr. Michael J. Breus, Ph.D., calls the sweatshirt hack a “really bad idea” in a YouTube short. Dr. Breus, a clinical psychologist and the founder of SleepDoctor.com (Sleep Doctor is the parent company of SleepFoundation.org), warns that wrapping anything around your neck during sleep could lead to unintended breathing obstructions.

“There’s no universe where I’m going to tell people to wrap a sweatshirt around their head and tie it around their neck,” Dr. Breus says.

Instead, Dr. Breus recommends using a sleep crown, which is a pillow designed to cover the eyes and the top of the head. Research has shown that products that block light, such as a sleep mask, can improve sleep quality for some people and lead to increased alertness the next day. Trusted Source National Library of Medicine, Biotech Information The National Center for Biotechnology Information advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information. View Source

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Written By

Jay Summer, Staff Writer

Jay Summer is a health content writer and editor. She holds a B.S. in psychology and master's degrees in writing and public policy.

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References
2 Sources

Steber, C. (2024, April 1). TikTok’s new favorite sleep hack involves tying a sweatshirt around your head. Bustle.
https://www.bustle.com/wellness/sweatshirt-sleep-hack-tiktok
Greco, V., Bergamo, D., Cuoccio, P., Konkoly, K. R., Muñoz Lombardo, K., & Lewis, P.A. (2023). Wearing an eye mask during overnight sleep improves episodic learning and alertness. Sleep, 46(3).
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36521010/