A study published in Stem Cell Reports found that sleep deficiency causes ocular discomfort and affects ocular surface health.
The study details.
The research team studied corneal epithelium gene expression in mice after 2 days of sleep deprivation (SD) and again after 10 days of SD. The results showed that 287 genes were significantly upregulated and 88 were downregulated in corneas after 2 days of SD, compared with control corneas. At Day 10, there were 272 significantly upregulated genes and 150 downregulated genes.
What does this mean?
This research demonstrates that SD disrupts the homeostasis in the tear film by increasing the reactive oxygen species levels and decreasing antioxidant capacity.
The take home.
The authors note that short-term consequences of insufficient sleep or delayed sleep cause ocular discomfort, including dryness, pain, pruritus, and hyperemia of the eye.