Why Sleep Is So Important for Your Eyes

How Important Is Sleep for Your Eyes?

Does Sleeping Help Your Eyes Heal?

While you're getting some shuteye, the muscle, tissue and nerve cells in your eyes are hard at work, undergoing a renewal process to repair and heal. During sleep, your eyes go through rapid and non-rapid eye movement sleep, also known as the REM and NREM cycles. During REM sleep, your eyes move back and forth rapidly under your eyelids as you dream. However, in dreamless—NREM—cycles, your eyes stay still and take time to repair tissue and cells. Healthy eye cells lead to overall healthy eyes and better vision, so keeping a regular sleep schedule that allows enough time for each sleep phase is important. If you’re not getting the right amount of sleep, these stages can be disrupted and your eye health can suffer.

How Much Sleep Do Your Eyes Need?

Have you ever wondered how much sleep is the right amount of sleep for your eyes? The Sleep Foundation recommends that adults get 7–9 hours of quality sleep to feel rested and support overall health. In addition, studies show that at least 5 hours of sleep are necessary for your eyes to go through the REM and NREM cycles and repair themselves with new cell growth.

Why Do We Rub Our Eyes When We Get Tired?

Rubbing your eyes is the telltale sign that you’re getting sleepy. Why do we do this? When you start getting tired, you tend to blink less in order to stay awake and alert. However, less blinking causes your eyes to dry out. Rubbing can stimulate the eyes’ lacrimal glands, which create the lubrication we get from blinking and tears. Therefore, rubbing our eyes when we get tired is simply an effort to keep ourselves alert while maintaining eye moisture. (It’s also a good natural sign that it's bedtime.)

What Happens to Your Eyes If You’re Not Getting Enough Sleep?

If you don’t get a good night’s sleep, you can feel it the next day. In addition to feeling fatigued, you may experience symptoms like brain fog and headaches. When the back-to-school season starts, many kids have trouble adjusting their sleep schedules and may experience symptoms of sleep deprivation. Sleep deprivation affects general eye health in many ways, so it is important to watch for signs and alleviate them by resting up. Here’s what happens to your eyes and body when you don’t get enough sleep.

• Dark eye circles
• Puffy under eyes
• Drooping eyelids
• Eye twitches and spasms

• Decreased tear production
• Itchy or dry eyes
• Eye strain
• Light sensitivity

• Blurry vision
• Headaches
• Fatigue
• Brain fog

Furthermore, not sleeping enough can cause acute and chronic issues for your overall physical and mental health. For example, lack of sleep can lead to an inability to focus and can make the eyes more susceptible to infections, like pink eye. Poor sleep habits can also lead to chronic conditions like high blood pressure and diabetes, negatively affecting your eyes and overall health.

3 Ways to Ensure a Good Night’s Sleep

We often have trouble getting enough sleep, especially if we’re kids going back to school after the summer. Here are 3 ways to ensure a better night’s sleep.

Avoid Screens

While it may be tempting to scroll social media before bed—avoid it! Preliminary research indicates that the blue light from digital devices and TV may mimic the sun's light, which can trick your body into thinking it’s daylight and time to stay up rather than go to bed. We know for sure watching the news or scrolling through social media before bed can overstimulate the mind, making it harder to clear your head before hitting the hay. If you suspect screen use is keeping you from falling asleep easily, you might want to try avoiding the use of screens in the hour before bed.

Turn Off Overhead Lighting

Lights out! Turn off overhead lighting to signal to your body that it’s time to wind down and rest up. Instead of keeping on all the lights, try minimal, warm lighting, like a cozy bedside lamp. Avoid all harsh overhead lighting.

Try an Eye Mask

Eye masks are not just for airplanes. Eye masks can block out artificial light sources and apply gentle pressure to your eyelids to soothe your eyes and make it easier to fall asleep. Available materials can range from light silk to weighted cotton to cooling fabrics. Find your favorite kind and rest easy!

Don’t Sleep on Your Eye Health!

It’s important to get a good night’s sleep—for the sake of your eye health! If you’re experiencing symptoms including dry eyes, twitching, headache or blurry vision, it may be time to reevaluate your sleep schedule or schedule an eye exam. Checking in with your eye doctor during an annual eye exam helps you be proactive about preserving crystal-clear vision and eye health and is an opportunity to address eye health concerns. Rest easy, knowing the Visionworks team has you covered!

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