If you see peculiar ‘swirls and wave’ patterns when you close your eyes before going to sleep, science has got to the bottom of the phenomenon.

Drifting off to sleep can be a battle at the best of times, let alone when your vision suddenly starts playing up and instead of seeing pitch black, you feel like you’re in Alice in Wonderland, falling down a rabbit-hole kaleidoscope of patterns and swirls zig-zagging all around you.

Fortunately, if this happens to you, you might take some comfort that you’re not the only one, with dozens taking to social media and forums to document their nightly visuals.

It can feel like you’re looking at a kaleidoscope (Getty Images)

A person on Quora asked: “When I close my eyes to sleep, I get bombarded with bright colours in streams and patterns and it makes it hard to calm down, is this normal?”

While another person on Twitter said: “Do u guys also have that weird thing where u can see colorful patterns when u have your eyes closed pls tell me someone knows what im saying,” to which their followers agreed and described it as ‘so distracting’.

Now, a scientist has revealed why so many us experience such sights.

Associate Professor at Queensland University of Technology, Katrina Schmid, told The Conversation that the view is ‘totally normal’ and occurs due to a range of factors.

The professor explained there are ‘a few different situations that can cause you to see colors with your eyes closed’, the first of which is if you close your eyes when you’re outside, in a bright room or in daylight.

Seeing swirls and patterns when trying to sleep is normal (Getty Images)

She continued: “Some light does go through your closed eyelids. So you might see a dark reddish colour because the lids have lots of blood vessels in them and this is the light taking on the colour of the blood it passes through.”

Yet, strangely, we’re more likely to see swirls, colors, waves and patterns when we close our eyes in the dark, which also has a scientific explanation.

They are called ‘phosphenes’, which are sensations of light people can ‘see’ when there is no actual light to cause them.

“Our eyes don’t turn off in the dark, but instead they create very weak internal signals that mimic light,” the professor added. “These signals are constantly being made by the cells at the back of your eyes.

“The swirls and waves we see are made by changes in activity from these cells. The blobs may be colored because the cells in your eyes that detect color also show this activity.

There’s a science behind why we see patterns and swirls when we close our eyes (Getty Images)

“These signals are transmitted to the brain, and the brain interprets this random activity. Your brain doesn’t know they weren’t produced by real light, so we think we’re seeing colored lights and patterns that are not there.

“It’s a kind of illusion,” she confirmed.

That said, while such ‘illusions’ are completely normal, they can also be a sign of retinal issues like retina detachment or neurological conditions – or you’ve been rubbing your eyes too much by applying slight pressure to your eyeball and giving yourself phosphenes.

The professor says if the illusions change and the patterns of light become more noticeable or ‘hang around for longer’, it might be time to book in with a doctor or an optician.

This theory has people scratching their heads and demanding more answers after learning about TikToker shared her thoughts on life after death.

Sure, there’s a whole lot of different videos on TikTok, but you don’t normally expect to end up questioning absolutely everything you know about reality by the end of one.

This is what has happened to some social media users after coming across this rather out there theory regarding what happens when you die.

Some people believe in heaven, others a different kind of afterlife but what happens after we stop living on planet Earth has both fascinated and terrified people across human history.

However, the idea of living forever and your back and hips getting even more dodgy, your memory fade further, certainly doesn’t appeal either.

This theory will certainly leave you a touch puzzled. (Getty Stock Image)

And the question of life and living forever is something that has led to people thinking about topics such as quantum immortality.

In ordinary terms, it means that people never die, but in truth, it’s a lot more complicated than that.

The theory suggests that people’s consciousness never actually dies, meaning that we might have lived through countless multiple apocalypses and extinction events.

It’s enough to fuel your existential dread for months, so – with that in mind – let’s learn a bit more about it, shall we?

The theory has been explained by many people, but we’re going to focus on TikTok user @joli.artist, as she discussed the idea of quantum immortality, as well as American physicist Hugh Everett’s ‘many worlds’ theory.

He suggested that there are countless other worlds and other realities, and when we die we simply transfer to another one of those.

In her TikTok video, Joli suggested that there’s a chance we ‘never really die’ and could have experienced the world ending on numerous occasions before.

“Whenever you die in one universe, your consciousness just gets transferred into another universe where you survive,” she said.

The TikToker explained how we might have already lived through the apocalypse. (TikTok/@joli.artist)

In a nutshell, that is the idea here.

Of course, it’s a lot more complicated than that, involving a lot of maths and science, but we are trying to keep things short and sweet here.

Joli explained how – if there’s anything to this theory – we wouldn’t remember the previous world that we switched over to but might have some basic recollections – much like the Mandela Effect.

“So after the inevitable apocalypse occurs, you’re going to wake up the next day in a new reality, and the next thing you know, you’re going to find yourself on Reddit talking about ‘since when did Pizza Hut have two Ts?” she explained.

Anyway, the very idea of this has some people’s heads in a spin.

“BYE NOT TODAY,” said one comment.

“Ok, I’m actually kind of freaking out right now coz I’m not the conspiracy typa guy, but you’re like eerily making sense,” said another.

“The thought of never being able to actually die is extremely depressing, and it’s giving me a headache,” a third added.

While it does sound cool, there are probably quite a few holes in this theory, but it is definitely an interesting thought.

The deadline for TikTok being potentially banned in the US is looming.

Last year, President Joe Biden warned that the popular video-sharing platform could be banned in the country amid concerns over ByteDance, the Chinese firm that owns TikTok.

Biden then signed a bill in April 2024 that gave ByteDance 270 days to sell the app or have it banned in the US.

There’s since been offers to buy TikTok but the Chinese-owned company is yet to budge.

The deadline for ByteDance to sell is January 19 – just a matter of days away.

As the date gets closer, many have been left with questions about what’s next for the app if a sale fails to go through.

With this in mind, tech experts have weighed in on the matter and shared their predictions for TikTok’s future.

TikTok could be banned in the US by the end of the month (CFOTO/Future Publishing via Getty Images)

What will happen to the TikTok app on your phone if it gets banned?

After January 19, if you’re in the US and haven’t got the app already on your phone it’s unlikely you’ll be able to download it as it’ll be pulled from stores like Google and Apple under the Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act.

For those who have the app prior to the ban, it’s expected that it will eventually ‘go dark’.

Timothy Edgar, a professor of cybersecurity at Brown University, told CBS: “They will get a notice that says, ‘This service is not available in your country.’

“That’s most likely what will happen based on what we’ve seen in other countries that have banned certain platforms.

“This generation may be in for a very rude awakening if the law goes into effect and they find a major social media platform that they came to rely on as creators, or just users, is suddenly not available.”

It seems unlikely that ByteDance will sell up (Thomas Fuller/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

Qi Liao, a professor of computer and network security at Central Michigan University, also weighed in and suggested that TikTok would eventually become ‘obsolete’ because, even if you can still access the app, you won’t be able to download any updates.

“Various issues could arise because TikTok may introduce new features or security patches, and the app in the US will have a sluggish performance as well as security issues. So eventually TikTok users will probably stop using the vulnerable version,” Liao added.

Will I be able to access TikTok through a VPN?

Some might be tempted to download a VPN (virtual private network) to still be able to access TikTok, but Eva Galperin, director of cybersecurity at the Electronic Frontier Foundation, has said doing this comes with its risks as ‘a lot of free VPNs make money by selling user data’.

“I would advise people to be very careful about the VPN they choose,” she added.

As the ban continues to loom, TikTok users have been rushing to a new app, RedNote; another short-form video app also from China.

MrBeast has shared an update for his followers after declaring he would ‘buy TikTok’ to prevent it from being banned in the US.

Is TikTok really getting banned?

The Chinese company ByteDance has just four days left to sell TikTok or risk getting banned in the US due to allegations that the company is linked to the Chinese government.

Officials and lawmakers in the US have raised concerns that ByteDance has access to the data of approximately 170 million users in the US, putting that data at risk if China asks the company to hand it over.

ByteDance has been described as a ‘national security threat’ (Anna Barclay/Getty Images)

In fact, the US Justice Department has claimed TikTok poses ‘a national-security threat of immense depth and scale’ due to its parent company.

As a result, President Joe Biden signed a law last year which demanded that ByteDance sell, or TikTok would be shut down in the US. The deadline to sell falls on 19 January – just one day before Donald Trump is set to be sworn in as the new president.

ByteDance has responded by claiming the law is ‘unconstitutional’, but they have ruled out the possibility of a sale.

What has MrBeast said about the ban?

As millions of TikTok users express concerns over the loss of TikTok, MrBeast shared what seemed to be a joke tweet about how he’d save it.

On January 14, he posted: “Okay fine, I’ll buy TikTok so it doesn’t get banned.”

MrBeast seemed to be joking about buying TikTok (X/@MrBeast)

With a net worth of approximately $1 billion, according to Celebrity Net Worth, the YouTuber has a better chance than most at being able to afford the app; but that doesn’t mean ByteDance would agree to a sale.

Still, MrBeast indicated he was keen to move forward with the idea, as he shared an update on Twitter a few hours after his first post.

He wrote: “Unironically I’ve had so many billionaires reach out to me since I tweeted this, let’s see if we can pull this off.”

MrBeast claimed billionaires have reached out to him about the sale (X/@MrBeast)

MrBeast didn’t reveal exactly which billionaires are involved in this apparent venture, but fans were quick to joke about what the content creator might do with the app.

“‘I just bought TikTok and I’m giving it away to one lucky subscriber’,” one Twitter user joked, in reference to some of MrBeast’s viral challenges.

What will happen if TikTok isn’t sold?

If the January 19 deadline comes and goes with no sale and the ban goes into effect, TikTok will no longer be available to download for new users.

Those who already have the app would still be able to access it, however new updates would not be available, meaning the app would likely become unusable over time.

As the ban continues to loom, TikTok users are familiarizing themselves with a new app, RedNote; another short-form video app also from China.