Sleep deprivation is a phenomenon which poses numerous disadvantages to your health. Talking in accordance with eye health, loosing onto sleep after an extensive work routine accompanied with a computer screen all day long in front of your eyes can cause chronic eye fatigue. In the recent times, a majority of people are suffering various eye problems due to excessive eye strain backed by sleep deprivation. Why we say that sleep is important for eye health because it helps your eyes to rejuvenate and reenergize easing the effects of eye strain. Noticeably, sleep is important for your eye health as much as sleep is needed for your body and brain to relax and recharge. Therefore, irrespective of the adversity of circumstances you must ensure that you get at least five hours of sleep. Common Symptoms of Eye Problems caused due to Sleep Deprivation
- Red and Dry eyes
- Blurry Vision
- Swollen Eyes
- Sensitivity to eyes
- Itchiness and irritable eyes
- Eye Spasms
At first, the following symptoms may not occur as a major threat to your eye health. However, if not immediately taken care of, these eye problems can develop into chronic eye diseases. The most common eye diseases caused due to sleep deprivation are – Chronic Dry Eyes During the night, as youare at rest in your deep sleep, your eyes work on producing new tears and cleansing themselves. However, due to excessive eye fatigue, failing to attain a deep and peaceful sleep at night, your eyes do not get the rejuvenation, lubrication, and cleansing that they need. Thus, dryness of the eye is the most prominent effect of sleep deprivation. A situation of constant or habitual sleep deprivation can further cause chronic dry eyes. Hence, it results in moderate pain in the eyes, discomfort, irritation, and itchiness. Moreover, chronic dry eyes can also cause blurred vision. Glaucoma Chronic sleep deprivation or a consistent sleep disorder can cause an interruption in yourbreathing mechanism. This phenomenon affects your intake of oxygen during the sleep. Thus, your brain and body are deprived of the needed level of oxygen. This state is called Sleep Apnea. Sleep Apnea gradually leads to the development of Glaucoma. It is so because; the lack of supply of oxygen to the eyes adversely affects the optic nerves. Thus, in order to avoid the chances of development of glaucoma, you must get your eyes checked for the symptoms of Sleep Apnea and undergo necessary treatments, if required. Ischemic Optic Neuropathy Ischemic Optic Neuropathy is an eye disease caused due to insufficient blood flow to the eyes. When you are asleep, the blood flow to your eyes enhances to provide them rejuvenation. Nonetheless, in case of consistent sleep deprivation, your eyes aren’t able to access the needed blood flow. Hence, the lack of it causes damage to your optic nerves. This can result in unclear eyesight and extreme pain in the eyes. The most effective solution to avoid these eye diseases is to ensure that you at least get 5-6 hours of sound sleep. Activities and habits such as exercising or consuming caffeine or visual stimulation with television or smart phone use before bedtime can disturb your sleep cycle and result in a disturbing sleep. Thus, you must avoid these activities to get rid of sleep deprivation. Nevertheless, if your sleep cycles are generally disturbed then following a certain routine, drinking warm milk, or sipping onto some tea before bed can help you to attain a sound sleep.
