It is easy to recognize someone who is very tired or that they did not get enough sleep the night before because they will have dark circles around their eyes.  Hong Kong people’s lifestyle is very busy and fast- paced.  Many people sacrifice their time to sleep for work from school or their workplace.  That might be why seeing people with dark circles under their eyes are quite common in this city.  However, how does having dark circles around someone’s eyes relate to not having enough sleep?

When someone does not have enough sleep, their eyes will get tired.  The skin around the eyes will feel stressed and tighten.  When this happens, the blood vessels under the eyes will also tighten, causing blood circulation around the area to be affected.  When the blood flow is affected, the oxygen level in the blood around that area will decrease.  The colour of the blood will then turn from bright red to dark red.  The dark colour of the blood can be seen through the thin layer of skin under the eyes – this is what makes the dark circles around the eyes!

To get rid of the dark circles, people can gently massage the area around the eyes to improve the blood flow, but of course, the best way is to get enough rest and sleep every day!