What Is the "Alpha Bridge" TikTok Sleep Hack? Can It Actually Help You Sleep?

Falling asleep, and staying asleep, can be a real nightmare. Regardless of whether or not you’re trying to catch some ZZZ’s in your bed or on an airplane, sometimes, you just can’t drift off. You could try counting sheep, listening to a sleep podcast or other auditory sleep aids, or doing some deep breathing exercises. Alternatively, you could try and generate alpha waves in your brain to help kickstart your sleep.

You might be questioning just how you’re going to generate alpha waves in your brain. TikToker Erica Terblanche (@erica.terblanche) claims that all you need to do is blink in a specific pattern, and trick your brain into thinking that you’re falling asleep. Terblanche claims that this hack will help you fall asleep “anywhere.”

I’ve gone ahead and broken down everything you need to know about this sleep hack. What even are alpha waves, how they can help you sleep, and whether or not this hack has any merit.

What Are Alpha Waves?

According to Healthline, alpha waves are one of five types of brain waves. These waves are produced while you’re still awake, but you’re not focusing on anything in particular. (1) For example, your brain produces alpha waves when you’re lying in bed and relaxing, trying to fall asleep.

How Do Alpha Waves Help Me Sleep?

Since alpha waves are produced when you’re awake, but not focused on a specific task, the production of these waves signal to your brain and body that you are in a relaxed, resting state. If you’re trying to fall asleep and your mind is racing, or you’re finding yourself focusing on things around you, then your brain won’t necessarily produce those alpha waves, and it will take your brain and body a bit longer to realize that you’re trying to rest.

How Does the Alpha Bridge Tik Tok Trend Work?

According to Terblanche, to do the Alpha Bridge hack, all you need to do is blink in a specific pattern. First things first, you’ll want to get yourself into a comfy position, ideally, one that you could fall asleep in. Then you’ll want to close your eyes and count to 30. Next you’ll open your eyes very slightly, and count to five. Then you’ll close your eyes and count to 30 again, and then open your eyes a bit more and count to five. After this you can close your eyes for good and gently focus on your breathing.

Dr. Mark Aloia, head of sleep and behavioral sciences at Sleep Number told Apartment Therapy that “Pairing the opening and closing of the eyes in a systematic way, with relaxation, is thought to create a sleepy condition.”

Does the Alpha Bridge Tik Tok Trend Really Work?

I gave the Alpha Bridge trend a shot while I was trying to take a short power-nap, something I have a notoriously hard time doing. The pressure of having a limited time to fall asleep really disrupts my ability to peacefully drift off, so this alpha bridge hack seemed like a great thing to try.

I curled up on my couch, and started following Terblanche’s recommended blinking pattern. After I completed the steps, I definitely found myself feeling calmer and more relaxed than I usually do when napping on a time-crunch. I noticed my heart-rate dropping, and I could feel myself beginning to drift off. However, I did give myself a bit of a headache while trying to hold my eyes part of the way open, and I didn’t end up falling asleep.

Unfortunately, I couldn’t measure my brain’s production of alpha waves while I tried this hack out, so I can’t say for sure whether or not this will definitely increase the production of Alpha waves and put you to sleep. The results I saw from trying out the alpha bridge hack could be attributed to a number of things, like a bad night of sleep the night prior, or simply being in a state that was more primed for rest.