‘Drawing figure eights. Repeatedly doodling a figure eight may stimulate eye movement patterns that create calm, says Tracy Latz, M.D. associate clinical professor at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. “When my alarm buzzed, I started drawing figure eights on a pad. For the first 10 seconds I felt silly, but then my hand relaxed and my mind wandered. After a minute of tracing the same path, I sighed happily and got out of bed.” “I love this low-tech, free option and will keep a pad and pen by my bed from now on.”’
