A good night’s sleep does more than just rest your body and mind – it also helps to maintain and even improve your vision and eye health. During the hours that you spend asleep every night, your eyes get the chance to rest and repair to reduce the risk of strain, dryness, and other common issues, so let’s explore how prioritising sleep will significantly improve your eye health.
1.Improve Tear Production
First up, getting at least 7 hours of sleep a night will help your body to produce tears to naturally lubricate your eyes. Tears are an important, but often overlooked, way of keeping your eyes healthy as they wash away dust and contaminants and protect your vision by providing a smooth surface for light to pass through. Dry eyes can also lead to irritation, blurred vision, and overall discomfort which can eventually damage the cornea and increase the risk of eye infections.
Whilst you sleep, your body is able to access the energy that it needs to maintain and repair your eyes, including the lacrimal glands – the parts of the body that are responsible for producing tears. A good, extended rest period also allows your body to regulate hormone levels and reduce inflammation in your eyes, both of which help your eyes to stay lubricated and produce a stable tear film to prevent discomfort and complications.
2. Reduce Strain
During the hours that we are awake, our eyes are constantly working hard to perceive the world around us. Whether we are reading, working, driving, or just looking around us, our eyes can become strained without us noticing and result in dryness, discomfort, and headaches.
This is why sleep is so important. Whilst we sleep, our eyes get a much-needed break from our visually stimulating world and are able to recuperate without the need for continuous focus and movement. A deep sleep also allows the ocular muscles to relax and reduce the symptoms of strain, so make sure that you prioritise this recuperative phase every night to wake up with refreshed eyes that are ready to take on a new day.
3. Support Eye Muscles
As well as letting the eyes recuperate overnight, it is also important to give the muscles that control your eyes a chance to relax. These muscles are responsible for directing the movement of your eyes and stabilising them for focused vision, and during the hours of the night they finally get a chance to relax and recover.
Sleep provides a period of inactivity that reduces strain in your eye’s muscles, which you might not have otherwise noticed building up, so make sure that you prioritise your vision and the muscles that control it with several hours of undisturbed sleep every night.
4. Prevent Issues
As well as repairing and relaxing your eyes, a good night’s sleep will also prevent any issues or conditions from developing. Glaucoma in particular is caused by increased pressure buildup within the eye which damages the optic nerve and risks vision loss, whilst a continued lack of sleep also increases the likelihood of age-related macular degeneration, also known as AMD.
During sleep, the body undergoes many restorative and maintenance processes, including the regulation of intraocular pressure and encouraging blood flow and nutrient delivery to the eyes. Adequate rest also reduces inflammation within and around the eye, which is a known contributor to a range of eye conditions, so prioritise your long-term vision and look ahead to the future when deciding how much sleep to get each night.
5. Protect Against Infections
When it comes to preventing damage to your eyes and protecting your eye health, it’s not just the long-term issues that sleep helps with – it’s also the everyday issues threatening your vision.
Deep, undisturbed sleep is vital for supporting your immune system and making your body more effective at fighting off infections, including those that can affect your eyes. During the hours that you spend asleep, your body naturally improves your immune responses, produces protective proteins, and reduces inflammation across the body, all of which equip you to fend off pathogens and reduce the severity of infections.
When your immune system is well-supported and strengthened by sufficient sleep, your eyes have a better line of defence against vision problems and infections, so safeguard your eyes and protect your vision by prioritising sleep each and every night.
Prioritising Your Eye Health
When it comes to caring for your vision, getting a full 8 hours of sleep is one of the easiest and quickest ways to maintain your eyesight for years to come. Little changes to your everyday routine, including sleeping, reducing screen time, and eating plenty of nutrients will all keep your eyes in great condition, but if you start to notice issues or would like to talk to a specialist, please book an appointment or contact our team today.
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