rubbing eyes
Fatigue's telltale motion
Rubbing eyes is pressing and moving the hands or fingers against closed eyelids.
People rub their eyes when tired, just waking, or trying to clear irritation: She sat up in bed, rubbing her eyes.
The gesture signals sleepiness or disbelief—rubbing one's eyes as if to see more clearly: He rubbed his eyes, unable to believe what he was seeing.
- tiredLacking energy, needing rest
- sleepyWanting to doze
- sleep deprivedLacking adequate rest
- itchyProvoking scratching urges
- drowsyNearly falling asleep
waking up · fatigue · long day · allergies · hay fever · gritty · irritated · watery · exhaustion · dusty · dry · burning · waking · crying · tears · eyelids · knuckles · morning
- fatigue symptomsexhaustion, tiredness, drowsiness, sleepiness, yawning
- signs of tirednessyawning, napping, dozing, nodding off, drooping
- waking upwaking, wake up, rising, get up, yawning
- idle actionsfidgeting, waiting, twiddling thumbs, daydreaming, lounging
- morningmorning, sunrise, daybreak, dawn, mid-morning
- eye problemsblindness, cataracts, glaucoma, blurred vision, eye irritation
alertness/fatigue signals
rubbing eyesbright-eyed
Alert and enthusiastic
wide awake · perking up · clear-eyed · sharp focus · yawning
rubbing, rubbed, rubs, rubber, eyes, eyed, eyeing, eyeless, eyelet