How Sleep Can Affect Eye Health

There’s nothing like getting a good night’s sleep. Waking up well-rested helps us start our days off the right way and feel healthy and energized. It only takes one night of sleeping bad to notice just how important sleep is to our overall health. This holds true for our eye health as well. Sleep can have a direct impact on our eye health, especially when we aren’t getting enough sleep on a regular basis. In this article, we will be exploring the relationship between sleep and how it can affect our eye health. If you are experiencing issues with your eyes, reach out to AV Eye Care today to schedule an eye exam.

Sleep Deprivation Negatively Impacts Eye Health

If you aren’t getting enough sleep, you aren’t giving your body the opportunity to regenerate its cells and gain the energy needed to reach your best health. One of the effects of sleep deprivation has to do with your eye health. Our eyes need a minimum of five hours of sleep per night so that they can stay healthy. If you don’t get enough sleep, you will notice symptoms like twitchy eyelids, dry eyes, and eye strain. These symptoms become stronger the longer you go without getting enough sleep. To avoid these symptoms, try to go to bed at a decent hour and take your sleep seriously.

Blue Lights Can Negatively Impact Our Eye Health

We all know just how prominent the use of electronic devices like smartphones, computers, and tablets are these days. However, if you are using these devices right before you go to bed, your eye health might be suffering as a result. When our eyes are exposed to blue light, they naturally think that it’s still daytime and that our body needs to be fully awake. Bright screens in dark rooms will lead to eye strain and can also interrupt our body’s natural ability to go to sleep. Make sure you are conscious of your blue light use at night, particularly during the few hours before you are about to go to sleep. Most phones and devices have applications and settings that help you reduce their blue light, so look into that if you must use your devices before you go to bed

Leaving Contacts in During Sleep Is Not Good for Eye Health

Contact lens wearers that have slept with them in before probably already know that it’s not a good habit to get into. Whenever you go to sleep with your contacts in, you essentially aren’t allowing your eyes to get enough oxygen. That’s why when you wake up after sleeping with your contact in your eyes are often red and dry. Some contact lenses are designed to allow oxygen to flow more freely so that you can wear them at night, but the bottom line is that sleeping in your contact lenses can be detrimental to your eye health. You can even end up dealing with an eye infection thanks to bacteria that build up around contact lenses when they are left in overnight.