Awaking from a comfortable slumber in our warm, cozy beds is challenging enough some mornings. Waking up with dry eyes can make our start to the day even more convenient.
Morning dryness is usually a result of poor eye lubrication while sleeping and can be caused by several factors:
- Reduced blinking
- Incomplete lid closure
- Sleeping in a dry space
- Poor sleep patterns
- Using digital screens before bed
All About Dry Eyes
It may feel like a mild annoyance, but dry eye disease is a common eye condition that affects many Americans. It’s marked by a dry, gritty sensation in the eyes, redness, and sometimes blurry vision.
This condition develops when your eyes don’t produce enough tears or when tears evaporate too quickly. Tears play an important role in keeping our eyes lubricated and moisturized.
The tear film consists of three layers. Instability in any of these layers means our tears can no longer adequately keep our eyes moisturized, leading to dry eyes.
Dry eyes come in two main forms:
- Aqueous tear-deficient dry eyes: Develops because a decrease in tear production leads to insufficient eye lubrication.
- Evaporative dry eyes: Occurs when tears evaporate too quickly from the eye’s surface because of insufficient oil production in the tear film.
Symptoms of dry eye range from mild to severe and commonly include:
- Redness
- Watery eyes
- Blurry vision
- Sensitivity to light
- Stinging or burning sensation in the eyes
Several factors influence the onset of dry eyes, including:
- Environmental conditions: Exposure to wind, smoke, dry climates, and extended time in air-conditioned or heated spaces can accelerate tear evaporation.
- Prolonged exposure to digital screens: Extended screen time leads to less blinking, eye strain, and increased tear evaporation.
- Meibomian gland dysfunction (MGD): This develops when meibomian glands along the eyelids become clogged, leading to a deficiency in the oily tear film layer.
Inconvenience aside, managing dry eye symptoms is important for maintaining good ocular health and vision. Untreated dryness can lead to severe complications like damage to the eye’s corneal surface.
Fortunately, several therapies are available to manage dry eye symptoms. We strongly encourage you to discuss your options with your optometrist.
A dry eye consultation helps assess the severity of symptoms and dryness to develop a treatment plan tailored to your needs.
Dry Eyes & Sleep
Sleep itself doesn’t directly cause dry eyes; rather, factors related to sleep can exacerbate ongoing dryness.
Blinking plays a strong role in maintaining eye moisture, as each blink helps evenly distribute tears across the eye’s surface. This natural process is interrupted while we sleep, leading to increased dryness.
While we sleep, our eyelids remain closed to keep them protected and moist. However, if our eyelids don’t fully close—a condition known as nocturnal lagophthalmos—the eye’s surface is exposed to air, increasing tear evaporation.
Our sleeping habits also play a role in aggravating dryness.
Sleeping in a low-humidity, dry, or air-conditioned space can also dry out the eyes, encouraging tear evaporation. This is why people who sleep with fans blowing directly on their faces may wake up some mornings with dryer eyes.
Other lifestyle factors also play a role:
- Inconsistent sleep patterns or sleep deprivation can negatively affect ocular health
- Using digital screens before bed can disrupt sleep and reduce blinking, worsening dry eye symptoms.
Managing Dry Eyes
There is no underlying cure for dry eyes, as this is a chronic condition. However, dry eye can be effectively managed with dry eye therapies.
These therapies target the underlying cause of dry eye to restore balance to the tear film, offering long-term relief from symptoms.
At-home Remedies for Dry Eyes
Targeting sleep-associated dryness generally includes making some lifestyle changes to promote better sleep:
- Create a humid sleeping environment: Using a humidifier in your bedroom adds moisture to the air, reducing tear evaporation while you sleep.
- Limit screen time before bed: Reducing screen time at least an hour before bed allows your eyes to rest and encourages natural blinking, which can help maintain tear film.
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to promote overall hydration.
- Warm compress mask: Apply the mask over your closed eyes and gently massage around the area for a few minutes before bed. Doing so helps unclog oil glands along the eyelids to promote better oil secretion and reduce tear evaporation.
- Preservative-free eye drops: These over-the-counter drops mimic the natural composition of tears to promote moisture on the eye surface. They can be used throughout the day and especially before bed.
- Eye ointment: An eye ointment is like a thick cream, and is applied along the lash line before bed. This helps retain moisture and prevent dryness throughout the night and is great for those with incomplete lid closure. Eye ointments can be used with eye drops, but be sure to apply the drops and wait a few minutes before applying the ointment.
Advanced Dry Eye Therapies
If dryness is severe, your optometrist may suggest advanced dry eye therapies. These are performed in-clinic, and can be combined with at-home remedies to help maintain results:
- Meibomian gland expression: This treatment aims to clear blockages in the eye’s meibomian glands. Gentle pressure is used on the eyelids to expel any debris from the oil glands and help balance the tear film.
- Punctual plugs: These small devices are inserted into tear ducts to help retain tears on the eye’s surface to maintain moisture, significantly improving dryness and irritation.
Schedule a Consultation
Sleep itself doesn’t cause dry eyes but associated factors like sleeping conditions can contribute to or worsen symptoms.
Alongside dry eye therapies, addressing these factors helps prevent morning dryness, providing a more comfortable start to your morning.
Connect with our team in Optometric Group at Fontana, Upland &Rancho Cucamonga to schedule your dry eye consultation.
