At the end of the day, you place a warm eye mask over your eyes.
Many of you may have felt that this alone makes you “breathe a sigh of relief” or “start to feel sleepy.”
In an age when we spend long hours on computers and smartphones, many people think of warming the eyes mainly as a way to rest tired eyes.
Recent research, however, has also reported interesting findings on the relationship between warming the area around the eyes and falling asleep and sleep .
Why would warming the eyes, rather than the whole body, have anything to do with sleep?
A 2025 Study Looked at Four Weeks of Warming the Eyes
In a study published in the Journal of Sleep Research in 2025, 64 working women with mild sleep problems were divided into a group that warmed the area around their eyes before bed and a control group, and changes were tracked over four weeks.
The group that warmed their eyes showed improvements not only in insomnia ratings, but also in how long they felt it took to fall asleep, how restored they felt after sleep, and how anxious they felt before bed .
The key point is that this was not a study of whether it “felt nice” for just one night; it was continued as a bedtime habit for four weeks.
Of course, this was a study of a limited group of 64 people, and it does not allow us to conclude that “warming your eyes will cure insomnia.”
Even so, it is interesting that warming the eyes before bed is being studied not merely for comfort, but in relation to sleep as well.
Why Would Warming the Eyes Affect Falling Asleep?
A clue lies in the changes in body temperature that happen before we fall asleep.
When we fall asleep, it isn’t simply that the whole body becomes warm.
As bedtime approaches, blood flow increases to the hands, feet and other extremities, releasing heat from inside the body to the outside. The resulting drop in core body temperature is linked to falling asleep naturally.
In other words, it works like this:
hands and feet warm up → the body can release heat more easily → core body temperature falls
That’s the sequence.
It’s a mechanism of human temperature regulation that also connects to the relationship between “keeping the head cool and the feet warm” and sleep, which we introduced in an earlier article.
Warming the Eyes Warmed the Hands and Feet, Too?
What’s interesting here is a study published in Scientific Reports in 2020.
When the area around the eyes was warmed in 18 healthy adults, skin temperature rose not only around the eyes but also in the hands and feet .
In addition, the time it took to fall asleep became shorter.
In other words, warming the eyes did not just create local warmth; it also caused temperature changes in the body’s extremities.
The researchers suggest that these changes may have encouraged the release of heat from the body that occurs before sleep, helping participants fall asleep.
“Warming my eyes somehow makes me sleepy.”
Behind that feeling may lie not just mood, but a possible link to the body’s temperature regulation before sleep .
Hotter Isn’t Always Better
One thing to keep in mind is that making the eye area hotter and hotter does not make it easier to fall asleep.
The skin around the eyes is thin and delicate.
What matters is not applying strong heat, but relaxing comfortably with a warmth that feels pleasant to you.
Sleep is also affected by many factors besides body temperature, including daily rhythms, light at night, stress, caffeine and room temperature.
A warm eye mask is not a treatment for sleep problems, and it isn’t something that “guarantees sleep whenever you use it.”
It’s best thought of as one habit that helps your body and mind shift into rest before bed.
If You Look at Your Phone Until Bedtime, Make Time to Close Your Eyes
These days, many people look at a computer all day at work, keep looking at their smartphone after getting home, and then go straight to bed.
On days like that, rather than following information right up until you sleep,
put your smartphone down
→ close your eyes
→ gently warm your eyes
we recommend trying to make time for this.
Not just the warmth, but the time itself when you stop “looking” can become a way to bring your day to a close.
Rest All the Way to Your Eyes with La HEAD’s SIGNATURE COURSE
At La HEAD, we offer the SIGNATURE COURSE , which adds an extra layer of refined comfort to our regular dry head spa.
In the SIGNATURE COURSE, we use a warm eye mask during the treatment.
While carefully caring for not only your head but also your neck, shoulders and arms, we gently warm the area around your eyes.
We also incorporate natural aromatherapy oils and magnesium gel to wrap you in soothing scents, and after your treatment you can savor the afterglow in our private refresh room.
A warm eye mask on its own does not guarantee sleep.
Even so, in a busy life, time spent away from your computer and smartphone, with your eyes closed and your head, neck, shoulders and arms at rest, is surprisingly rare.
Take your usual dry head spa to an even more refined level.
On days when you’ve been using your mind and eyes nonstop at work and in daily life, enjoy a luxurious moment of doing nothing with La HEAD’s SIGNATURE COURSE.