How Eye Health is Affected by the Lack of Sleep

 

Adequate sleep helps to replenish and rebuild our bodies after the wear and tear of daytime activity and stress, the eyes are no exception. Skimping on your beauty sleep, in the short term, affects mood, motivation, memory, metabolism, and much more including eye health.

Inadequate sleep can occur in three ways:

• Insufficient sleep would be less than 7 hours a night.
• Interrupted sleep is often when sleep is interrupted by bathroom visits, TVs, and other sources that can wake a person, leading to inadequate sleep making it hard to fall asleep again.
• Sleep apnea is a sleep disorder that happens when breathing stops and starts while sleeping

Sleep deprivation for any reason can take a toll on your eyes. Some are mild while others can become quite serious. On the mild side:

• Dark circles under the eyes
• Wrinkles
• Eyes look puffy
• Eye spasms and twitching
• Dry and itchy eyes
• Bloodshot eyes
• Rubbing tire dies can lead to infection

Some of the more serious eye conditions from lack of sleep:

• Glaucoma
• Anterior ischemic optic neuropathy (AION)
• Central serous retinopathy

To avoid these problems get the proper amount of sleep, at least seven hours a night. Follow these tips for better sleep:

• Reduce blue light exposure in the evening
• Don't consume caffeine late in the day
• Be consistent with bedtime and waking time
• Optimize your sleep environment-temperature, noise, light, and furniture arrangement
• Don't eat late in the evening
• Relax and clear your mind in the evening
• Reduce fluid and take one to two hours before bed

Sources:

www.nj1015.com

www.VSPdirect.com

www.webmd.com

www.sleepeducation.org

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Are you Joking?

 

1.    Where can you always locate the eye?

    Exactly between H and J.

2.  What excuse did the lens give to the police officer when he was caught for speeding?

    He said, "I've been framed, sir."

3.  What did the sailor say to the optometrist?

    He said, "Eye! Eye! Captain."

4.  How does it feel to wake up every morning?

    It's an eye-opening experience.

5.  Have you heard about the man that got some salt in his eyes?

    Now it's become see salt.

The Worst Food for the Eyes

We know there are plenty of foods that are good for your eyes. What you eat and drink can have a lasting impact on your vision. It is essential to know what foods to avoid if you want to keep your eyesight as sharp as possible.

• Sugar is a pro-inflammatory that causes high blood sugars. Inflammation and high blood sugar can affect the whole body including the eyes. Studies have proven those with chronic high blood sugar are more at risk for eye disease.
• Margarine and vegetable oil, the chemicals in these man-made products can lead to the narrowing of blood vessels. Some of these have trans-fat which raises cholesterol levels.
• Fried foods that are cooked in trans-fats raise bad cholesterol levels that can lead to heart disease, stroke, and type two diabetes.
• Highly processed foods, prepared foods like canned goods, deli meat, hotdogs, and bacon often have up to 75% of the suggested daily amount of sodium. The salt spike can eventually lead to high blood pressure and related eye problems.
• Sweet drinks-These products not only contain sugar but are often high fructose corn syrup. It can lead to an increased risk of heart disease, high blood pressure, and high blood sugar leading to narrowing of the capillaries that lead to the eyes.
• Alcohol-drinking too much alcohol can lead to cataracts at an earlier age in addition to heart disease, high blood pressure, and liver damage.

Anything we know to be bad for overall vascular health is also harming smaller blood vessels in the eyes. Damaged vessels sometimes are seen first in the smaller vessels like in the eye.

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Sources:

www.webmd.com

www.webeyecare.com

www.piedmonteye.com

Ocular Sarcoidosis

 

April is sarcoidosis month, sarcoidosis is a rare inflammatory disease that affects one or more organs. Most commonly affects the lungs, lymph nodes, eyes, and skin. As a result of the inflammation, abnormal lumps or nodules called granulomas form in organs of the body. These granulomas May change the normal structure and function of the affected organs.

Sarcoidosis is one of the leading causes of inflammatory eye disease. Uveitis is the most common and serious form of ocular sarcoidosis. 30 to 60% of patients develop this form.

Doctors have yet to find an exact cause of sarcoidosis. Some theories do exist · 

• Bodily response to foreign substances such as viruses bacteria or chemicals.
• Genetic predisposition.

Sarcoidosis can affect the eyes without any symptoms. Another reason to have your eyes checked regularly. When symptoms do occur they can include:

• Blurred vision
• Eye pain
• Burning, itching, or dry eyes
• Severe redness.
• Sensitivity to light
• Reduced Color vision
• Seeing floaters
• Small, pale yellow bumps on the eye

There is currently no cure for ocular sarcoidosis, at times the disease will go into remission with therapies to manage inflammation and ease symptoms. Ocular sarcoidosis treatments, depending on the severity include:

• eye drops containing corticosteroids (prednisone or Durezol)
• Topical cycloplegics (Cyclopentolate or atropine)
• Immunosuppressives (Methotrexate, Imuran or CellCept).

Sources:
www.mayoclinic.org
www.clevelandclinic.org
www.Nubian.nih.gov
www.bjo.bmj.com
www.simplyhealth.io

Image: www.verywellhealth.com/sarcoidosis-effects-3422010

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