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Why do your eyes get crusty when you sleep?

What is happening when my eyes get heavy when I am about to sleep?

  • What is happening in my body when right before bed my eyes get heavy and I am about to go to sleep?

  • Answer:

    The most well-publicized answer on the internet (as reports) is that the eyelid muscles become fatigued [1], but this may not be correct. It is more likely that the brain involuntarily initiates eye closure to block out visual distraction and facilitate sleep onset. There appears to be no published research on this question, and the only available answer on the internet comes from a single source: a physiologist at an osteopathic (alternative medicine) school in Pennsylvania who says that the cause is eyelid muscle fatigue. [1] However there are some problems with this explanation and it may not be correct. Anecdotally, the feeling of heavy eyelids is correlated with drowsiness, not with the duration of the awake state. There are situations in which one is drowsy with "heavy eyelids" despite recent sleep, for example: after a big meal at lunch (postprandial somnolence) when jetlagged during a boring lecture (even in the morning) at the onset of general anesthesia when a hypnotist says you are about to feel this while being hypnotized At these times, there is drowsiness accompanied by that feeling that you just can't keep your eyes open "no matter how hard you try."  Once alertness returns, out walking around for example, the feeling of heavy eyelids is gone. This suggests that the feeling of heavy eyelids is due to the brain's sleep onset system activating eyelid closure rather than eyelid muscle fatigue. The eyelid is actively closed during blink by the orbicularis oculi muscle around the eye (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orbicularis_oculi_muscle ). So what may be happening is that sleepiness -- the global initiation of sleep onset -- may involuntarily initiate eyelid closure to reduce visual input and facilitate sleep onset. ---- [1] Osteopath Mark Andrews gives the eye muscle fatique answer in two online sources, Scientific American, and an NBC News interview, but cites no research or evidence. See: http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-our-eyelids-get-heavy  and: http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/03/12/10626112-why-do-our-eyelids-get-heavy-when-were-sleepy

Paul King at Quora Visit the source

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Here is a psyched out picture of what your eye looks like FROM THE INSIDE : From the above diagram, you can see that there are so many MUSCLES which hold the eye in position. In addition to the muscles which hold your eye in position, your eyelids are also made up of muscles as seen in the below diagram. What happens to you when you work out excessively at the gym or play a game of football? YOU FEEL TIRED. The same reason applies here. Throughout the day, the muscles around your eye are constantly working- they are contracting and relaxing every time you blink, muscles holding your eye are working while you turn your eye/ or perform any kind of eye movement. So, at the end of the day, like any other muscle in the body, they fatigue/ tire. This is what is experienced as 'heaviness' The main reason for muscle fatigue is the gradual depletion of calcium ions. Besides this,as the muscle performs, there is a chemical reaction happening where a substance called 'lactate' is continually synthesized from another chemical called 'pyruvate'. This lactate may/may not be responsible for muscle fatigue. Scientists are uncertain. Recent scientific evidence is leaning towards the involvement of another substance called inorganic phosphate rather than lactic acid. However,it is said that these waste products/ metabolites do not allow your muscles to contract completely. EDIT : In addition to muscular causes, heavy eyelids could also have a neurological reason as points out, he says that the activation of the sleep onset in the Brain via the Hypothalamus and parasympathetic nervous system might cause active contraction of the muscles that control eye- closing ( orbicularis oculi, levator palpaebrae) which forces your eyes shut involuntarily. Thanks Paul!   Sometimes, towards the end of the day, the region around your eye also swells up slightly, this is because of increased blood flow which occurs in order to support the working muscles-because muscles need oxygen which comes from blood. Most of the time, heavy eyes can be relieved by just gently massaging your eyes- It works! (To a certain extent) This is because by massaging, you are helping flush out the lactate and other waste products away from the eye area and at the same time you are improving circulation. Better Circulation= more blood supply= more oxygen= better performing muscles. Refrerence - http://bodyodd.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/03/12/10626112-why-do-our-eyelids-get-heavy-when-were-sleepy?lite http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=why-do-our-eyelids-get-heavyThis answer is not a substitute for professional medical advic...

Prarthana Bhat

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