How to Cross Your Eyes With Easy Steps

Here is all the information you need to know about eye crossing, including how to do it and any potential negative effects.

Why Can You Cross Your Eyes?

Six muscles in your eyes allow them to look up, down, and in all directions. Your brain gains the ability to combine the two images that are received by your eyes into one during the first year of life. Fusion is the name of this skill.

Your eyes automatically point inward and toward the bridge of your nose when you are looking at something that is very close to your face in order to see it clearly. It prevents you from having double vision, which is normal and an essential aspect of seeing. All of these capabilities, however, also enable you to close your eyes.

How to Cross Your Eyes

Focus Both Your Eyes on the Tip of Your Nose.

Lower your gaze gradually until the tip of your nose is in focus with both of your eyes. Since you’re probably not used to using your eye muscles in this way, it could cause some eye strain. Your eyes should now be closed, though you won’t be able to see it yourself. But so far, this isn’t much fun because no one else can see that your eyes are crossed because you’re looking down.

Move Your Gaze Upward.

The tricky part is to keep your eyes angled inward, just as they were when you were concentrating on staring at the tip of your nose, as you slowly move your gaze upward, as if you were staring straight ahead.

Practice, Practice, Practice.

Once you take your eyes off your nose, you’ll probably find it hard to keep your eyes closed. Your brain will automatically try to refocus your eyes on more distant objects as soon as you take your eyes away from that object (in this case, your nose) using the very natural technique of crossing your eyes. This causes your eyes to uncross almost instantly. Even so, it might take some practice to control your eye muscles so that they remain unfocused. Don’t forget to keep your eyes open so that everyone can see your cross-eyed face!

Get Help from a Friend.

It’s best to practice eye crossing with a friend present so you can check to see if you’re actually doing it correctly. If you look up at your friend and the friend says, “Ew!” or makes a gross face, then chances are that yeah, you’ve successfully crossed your eyes. People advise trying to take a picture of yourself with your eyes crossed to see if you’ve managed it, but that simply requires too much coordination.

Hold Out a Pen at Eye Level at Arm’s Length.

Try to ignore everything behind that object as you concentrate on it. In reality, this is just another way to stare at the tip of your nose, which exaggerates the action and slightly eases it.

Bring the Object Closer to Your Face.

Make sure to move slowly and to keep your attention solely on that object. Some practice is required for this. If at first you find it difficult to maintain your focus on the object, try not to get frustrated.

Stop When the Object is Close to Your Face.

Your eyes should begin to cross once the pen is about 5.1–10.2 cm (2.4 inches) away from your face. For a brief period, keep your eyes closed and concentrate on the item.

Remove the Object from Your Line of Sight, But Don’t Move Your Eyes.

Similar to the technique described above, maintaining crossed eyes is challenging, but it can be done with practice. You’ll know when your eyes “uncross” because your eyes will seem to “snap” back into focus.

Be a Master at Crossing Your Eyes.

Only after you are an expert at crossing your eyes the conventional way will you be able to master this advanced skill. If you successfully cross your eyes while moving one at a time, you’ll be able to move your eyeballs in various directions, which adds to the gross-out factor.

Cross Your Eyes.

Simply try different eye crossing methods until you find the one that works best for you, whether it’s looking at the tip of your nose and then looking up, holding a pen, or something else.

Focus on Moving Just One Eye Away from Your Nose.

Try concentrating on, for example, bringing your right eye all the way out to the left side of your face while keeping your eyes crossed. It ought to at least reach the middle initially. Keep your left eye crossed and your attention on your nose’s tip as you perform this. With one eye completely crossed and the other either facing out or even to the side, this will produce a disconcerting expression.

Repeat With the Other Side.

You should try the opposite, keeping your right eye crossed while moving your left eye to the center or all the way to the left corner of your eye, as you might have better control over one eye than the other. Determine which is simpler for you.

Keep Practicing!

Even though it’s more difficult to master than crossing your eyes, if you do, your friends will be even more alarmed. You can become an expert by spending just a short amount of time each day honing this skill.

Will Crossing Your Eyes Damage Your Vision?

Many people learn how to cross their eyes when they are young and do so to amuse their friends and family. Adults might be concerned, but no long-term harm will result from this.

Similar to when you exercise any other muscle, crossing your eyes can make you feel tired, but the effect is temporary. This means that after crossing your eyes, you might feel some minor pain or discomfort, but after some rest, your eyes will feel as normal as before.

Can Your Eyes Become Permanently Crossed?

Even though intentionally crossing your eyes won’t cause any long-term damage, there are conditions that can make them point inward. The eye muscle issue that causes this condition, known as strabismus, is common.

Despite the fact that the condition can refer to any eye misalignment, it’s frequently connected to an eye that faces the nose. Strabismus is not something you can cause and frequently requires surgery to correct. Instead, it arises as a result of ailment or trauma.

If left untreated, strabismus can result in amblyopia, or “lazy eye,” which can cause double vision and eventually blindness in the affected eye.

Optical Care for Children

Are you worried about your child or baby’s eyes? If so, be sure to make a reservation for a child’s eye exam at a nearby Optometrists’ Clinic location. Strabismus and other bothersome eye conditions are able to be identified or ruled out by our optometrists. To schedule an appointment, call us right away.

FAQs