People only just learning why they rub their feet together when falling asleep

30 January 2024 , 14:36

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Cricketing helps people relax before bed (stock photo) (Image: Getty Images)

Everyone has their own nighttime routine - and for some people, this includes rubbing their feet together as they drift off to sleep. However, not many people stop to wonder why they do this - or simply do not notice they're doing it at all.

Confused, one Reddit user said: "I am curious if anybody else feels soothed when they rub their feet around each other repeatedly? I feel like I can’t sleep without doing it most nights. I think it is when I have too much energy. I love doing it. It just must look quite funny to an outsider."

It turns out the rhythmic motion, known as cricket feet or cricketing, helps a person release stress or anxiety before falling asleep. Lee Phillips, a psychotherapist and certified sex and couples therapist, told Health : "Cricket feet, or cricketing, is the repeated physical movement of rubbing one foot against the other, often while trying to fall asleep.

"The name, unsurprisingly, comes from crickets. The insects make chirping sounds when they rub their long hind legs together on their wings, or when they simply rub their wings together." Expanding on this Jennifer Worley, a licensed marriage and family therapist and clinical director of First Light Recovery, said: "Engaging in such actions can be a self-soothing mechanism, similar to rocking or tapping."

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According to Lee Phillips, people who have neurodivergent disorders such as autism and ADHD are more likely to have 'cricket feet' at night. However, this doesn't exclude people without neurodivergent disorders from carrying out the same relaxation technique.

Commenting on his revelation, one Reddit user said: "Since I was a kid! They fit together just right/I fall asleep and I wake up doing it!" Another user added: "Yes! I call it 'cricket feet and I do it anytime I’m in a semi-reclined or laying-down position. Even more so when I’m tired."

A third user said: "I don't rub my feet, but I do constantly wiggle my toes. Specifically, rubbing together my big toe and.. index toe? Why is it called an index toe, that seems weird... Anyway, socks without shoes also drive my feet crazy unless it's winter and they're very cold. But I will 100% still wiggle my toes in my socks."

One more user added: "I like to rub the edge of one foot in between the toes of the other foot. It’s so relaxing. I’ve also learned to use one foot to crack the toes of the other." A fifth user said: "I don’t, but my husband does occasionally. I call it cricketing."

Paige Freshwater