How quality sleep protects your vision: the eye-rest connection

Whilst ensuring you get your eyes examined by a professional periodically is vital and ensuring you protect your eyes in general is important, there are many lifestyle choices and ways in which you can take care of your eye health as well. 

A night of quality sleep is just one of those ways. Ensuring you get enough sleep, and that sleep is of sufficient quality, does more than ‘just’ rejuvenate your body and refresh your mind, it protects your vision. 

At The Fred Hollows Foundation, we advocate for eye health that goes beyond just disease treatment. We help local healthcare workers, communities and governments promote healthy habits for a clearer, brighter future. 

Learn more about how we improve health systems and our eye health programs here. 

How does sleep help with eye health? 

Getting enough quality sleep provides your eyes with the time it needs to engage in natural ‘repair and maintenance’. It ensures sufficient hydration as well which is essential to maintaining good eye health. 

Chan Ngin rests at home, a Cambodian landmine survivor who lost both legs.

Photo credit: The Fred Hollows Foundation

What happens to your eyes while you sleep?

You likely don’t even know what goes on with your eyes while you’re getting a bit of shut-eye. When you sleep, your eyes are engaged in a number of important activities:

1. Lubrication

Your eyes produce important lubricants that are needed to nourish your cornea. 

2. Toxins 

Over the course of your day, toxins build up in your eyes. During sleep, these toxins are flushed out naturally.

3. Recovery 

your eye muscles need time to rest as well. Your body naturally regulates this recovery while you sleep, helping to avoid strain of your eye muscles when you are awake. 

What happens to your eyes when you don’t sleep enough? 

Chronic sleep deprivation can be damaging to your body and mind, but also your vision. It increases your risk of a number of conditions:

1. Dry eye syndrome
2. Eye twitching
3. Blurred vision 

There is a clear link between sleep and healthy vision, underlining the importance of the eye-rest connection. 

What Is the “Eye–Rest Connection”? 

The eye-rest connection is a demonstrable relationship between your sleep and vision health. Each can impact and depend on the other. 

While you sleep, your eyes recover and strengthen their visual resilience and operation. Regular, quality, and long-enough sleep directly supports long-term eye health. 

There are three main aspects to this connection: 

1. Rehydration 

Your cornea, which is critically important for your vision, needs to remain hydrated. This doesn’t always occur sufficiently during the day. So, at night while you rest, your cornea is rehydrated and kept operating healthily. 

2. Light sensitivity 

While you sleep, your retinal cells restore their light sensitivity. This means that when you wake up and expose your eyes to light once more, they are rejuvenated to the point of clear vision. 

3. Eye pressure 

Eye pressure can build up and it can also fluctuate. The importance of sleep is that it can help stabilise that pressure overnight, keeping your eyes operating and feeling as good as possible.   

What is meant by “quality sleep”? 

While we use the term sleep to refer to the entire period of your ‘sleeping’, it actually has multiple stages, including rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM cycles. 

When we talk about the importance of quality sleep we mean deep-enough, long-enough and uninterrupted rest that ensure your eyes and body have the time and opportunity to recover from daily strain. 

Poor sleep (i.e., sleep that is disturbed) or not enough sleep, can leave your eyes: 

• Dry 

• Red 

• Sore 

• Strained 

Sufficient sleep, in terms of quantity and quality, will make sure that: 

• Your eyes replenish tear film and moisture 

• There is a reduction in both inflammation and eye irritation 

• There is support for proper blood flow to ocular tissues 

• You can maintain focus and coordination the next day 

How do you improve the quality of your sleep?

Even small lifestyle changes and habits can greatly improve the quality of your sleep and, in turn, your eye and vision health.

Here are some tips and tricks for gaining higher quality sleep:

1. Aim for a consistent bedtime and wake up time every day
2. Aim for at least 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night
3. Reduce your exposure to blue light, i.e., screen time, right before bed
4. Keep your bedroom dark, cool and quiet
5. Stay hydrated during the day
6. Avoid caffeine later in the day

Frequently Asked Questions about Sleep and Eye Health

Children in Rwanda wearing protective eye patches after surgery. The Fred Hollows Foundation is working to strengthen the country’s eye health system so more people can access care.

Photo credit: Michael Amendolia

1. How many hours of sleep do eyes need to keep healthy?

It is generally recommended that most adults get 7–9 hours for optimal eye moisture and cell regeneration. 

2. Are screens before bed really bad for the eyes? 

Yes: The blue light emitted from phones and tablets exposes the eyes and weakens melatonin production. This can cause eye strain and disrupt your sleep.  

3. Can better sleep improve existing eye conditions?

Sleep doesn’t cure vision problems; It is an important habit to maintain eye health. However, it can certainly support effective treatment, reduce discomfort, and even enhance your response to eye treatments and surgery recovery. 

How can you support The Foundation’s eye health education programs? 

Around 80 women from a dried fish processing community in Bangladesh join an eye health awareness session, learning about regular eye exams, hygiene, and simple ways to protect their vision.

Photo credit: Roksana Kamal

The Fred Hollows Foundation's commitment to ending avoidable blindness goes beyond surgery and treatment. 

We believe that education empowers communities to prevent vision loss before it starts - including in the realm of sleep. 

Our educational programs are aimed at helping people, especially in lower socioeconomic communities, understand how their lifestyle choices can help to maintain good quality eye health. 

If you would like to get involved and support our work, click here today.