We all know sleep is good, and how important it is to our everyday life. However, a lot of people don’t get enough sleep for a variety of reasons, and many of them are falling asleep on the job. What can be done to encourage people to get more sleep? What if we told you that a lack of sleep can damage your eyesight?
It’s true! While you’re asleep, your eyes are recovering. Think about how much you use your eyes during the day, and how little you close them. If you get tired during the day, imagine how your eyes feel. Therefore, not getting enough sleep cuts down into recovery time, and starts causing problems. You probably already know someone who seems to always have dark circles around their eyes, but if they’re not careful, the whites of their eyes may start to go red. Yes, there is make-up for dark circles and eyebags, but wouldn’t you rather get enough sleep in the first place?
Although it’s rare, and usually happens to older people, it’s also possible to develop dry eye disorder from a lack of sleep. During deep sleep, our eyes are closed, but they flicker over a million times per minute. This causes tears from rapid eye movement, but because our eyes are closed, what happens is lubrication. Without enough sleep, many people don’t enter deep sleep, and therefore, their eyes remain dry. This causes irritation, blurry vision, and light sensitivity. More extreme cases can lead to eye spasms, and beyond that, other serious eye disorders can develop.
The message is: get some sleep! While medicine suggests that five hours is at least a sufficiency for eye care, seven hours is better for the body overall. You’ll feel and look better after sleep, so why put it off?
