You wake up and open your eyes. The world looks fuzzy. You blink. You rub your eyes. The blurriness slowly goes away. This is a common experience. Many people have blurry vision in the morning. Most of the time, it is nothing to worry about. But sometimes, it can be a sign of a problem.
During sleep, your eyes are closed for hours. Your tears are not spreading across your eyes. Your corneas may dry out or change shape. When you wake up, your vision is blurry until your tears smooth out your corneas again.
Dry eye is the most common cause of morning blurriness. While you sleep, your eyes make fewer tears. If you sleep with your eyes partially open, they get even drier. The surface of your cornea becomes irregular. This causes blurry vision.
Other causes include allergic reactions, eye discharge, and sleeping in contact lenses. More serious causes include corneal swelling from glaucoma or other diseases.
Let’s explore blurry vision in the morning, including its causes and when you should be concerned.
Waking up with blurry vision?
Blurry vision in the morning in one eye or both eyes is commonly seen among people of all ages. In most cases, you need not worry if you are waking up with blurry vision.
But sometimes it indicates eye diseases that cause blindness if the blurry vision in the morning is accompanied by other symptoms of medical emergency like a stroke, concussion, or head injury.
If that is the case, you should immediately seek medical attention. Today, we will discuss common causes of blurred vision in the morning.
What makes you wake up with blurry vision in the Morning?
1. Dry Eyes
The eye is kept moist and lubricated by the continuous movement of the tear layer with the help of eyelids.
During sleep, the tear is constantly produced but it is not smoothly distributed over the cornea.
So, it is normal to have blurry vision in the morning for a few seconds after you wake up.
Sometimes, the meibomian glands (oil-secreting glands at the eyelid margins) produce too little oil while asleep.
This also contributes to eye irritation and reduced vision.
Certain medicines for allergy, hypertension, cold, and sleeping pills, antihistamines reduce the amount of tear secretion.
If you take any of these medicines before bedtime you may experience blurry vision.
2. Ocular Allergies
If you are waking up with a blurry vision in one eye or both eyes, eye allergies might be the reason.
Your eyes may become dry, watery, itchy, or swollen, which then could make you wake up with a blurry vision in the morning.
If you are allergic to dust mites, pet dander, and detergent used to wash the bedding, it is possible to have blurry vision along with other symptoms of eye allergy.
3. Sleeping with the ceiling fan on
If you have a habit of sleeping with a fan on, it is not good for your eye health. The movement of air dries out the skin and eyes.
The temperature might help you to have a good night, but this might be the major cause of eye irritation and you might be waking up with blurry vision.
4. sleeping on your face
You could have floppy eyelids if you sleep on your face and have blurry vision when you wake up. The upper eyelids lose elasticity. To avoid this, try to seep on your back.
5. Corneal disorders
Certain corneal disorders like corneal edema and dystrophies become prominent in the comparatively hypoxic environment of the cornea during sleep.
These are characterized by a painless cloudy vision in the morning and vision improves gradually when the cornea gets sufficient oxygen throughout the day.
6. Drinking alcohol
Alcohol causes dehydration of the body, including the eye. There will be a sudden reduction in tear quantity due to dehydration and poor secretion from tear glands due to the effect of alcohol.
So, blurry vision in the morning is common among alcoholics.
7. Sleeping with contact lenses
Sleeping in your contact lenses is a great risk for your eyes. The contact lens lowers the oxygen supply to the cornea which leads to blurry vision along with redness, swelling, and discharge.
8. Diabetes
There will be fluctuating blurry vision in the morning and throughout the day if you have fluctuation of sugar level in the blood. The vision change is accompanied by dizziness and weakness.
Diagnosis
A comprehensive eye exam is necessary to pinpoint the cause of blurry vision in the morning.
Signs and symptoms along with blurred vision guide your eye doctor to rule out the exact cause. Blurry vision, redness, watering, and itching are symptoms of eye allergy.
Visual acuity check, dryness test, and other eye examinations with pupil dilation are done to find out other causes of blurry vision.
Measurement of blood pressure and blood sugar help to identify the systemic cause of blurry vision.
How to get rid of blurry eyes in the morning?
In most cases, blurry vision in the morning doesn’t require treatment.
But if you wake up with a blurry vision in one eye or both eyes due to the result of medical conditions, treatment depends on the cause.
This condition will improve after treatment of the underlying cause of blurred vision in the morning.
If dry eye is the cause of blurred vision, blinking a few times after waking up can re-moisten the cornea. Similarly, you can use lubricating eye drops to ease the effect of dry eyes.
To get rid of blurry vision in the morning due to floppy eye syndrome, try to sleep on your back or side.
Similarly, remember to remove your contact lenses before sleep in order to minimize the related negative effects on your eyes.
Likewise, if corneal edema causes you to wake up with a blurry vision in the morning, the eye doctor prescribes eye drops to minimize corneal swelling.
If an allergy is causing reduced vision, use anti-allergic medicines prescribed by your eye doctor.
Check your blood sugar level regularly to get proper treatment for diabetes and to minimize blurry vision.
Similarly, manage to sleep in a place where the direct effect of the ceiling fan on your eyes is minimum.
Drink plenty of water to keep your body hydrated all the time. It is not good to drink alcohol before bedtime if you are constantly having the problem of blurred vision in the morning.
Likewise, plenty amount of sleep (7-8 hours) is necessary to maintain the normal physiology of your body, including the eye.
Do you need to see a doctor if you are waking up with blurry vision in the morning?
It is not necessary to see a doctor if the reduced vision comes to normal after blinking or rubbing your eyes.
But you should visit your eye doctor if there is unexplained, persistent blurry vision throughout the day, along with other vision-threatening conditions and systemic symptoms.
Don’t ignore medical emergency conditions like stroke, and concussion as they also show symptoms of blurry vision in the morning.
You May Also Like
Corner of Eye Hurts! Pain in Corner of Eye (Outer & Inner)
Eye Itching in the Corner (Inner & Outer): Causes, Treatment & Remedies
White Part of Eye Swollen Like Jelly: Chemosis of Eye – Causes and Treatment
Wavy Squiggly Lines in Vision (Eye Floaters): Causes, and Treatment:
How To Pick The Right Glasses Frame For Your Face
Sudden Blurry Vision In One Eye: Causes And More
FAQs
1. Why is my vision blurry when I first wake up?
The most common cause is dry eye. While you sleep, your eyes are closed. Your tears do not spread across your eyes. The surface of your cornea becomes dry and irregular. This makes your vision blurry. When you blink after waking, your tears smooth out the surface. Your vision clears. Other causes include eye discharge that dries on your eyelashes, allergic reactions, and sleeping with your eyes partially open. If you sleep in your contact lenses, your corneas may swell. This causes blurry vision that can last for hours.
2. When should I be concerned about morning blurry vision?
Most morning blurry vision is harmless. But see a doctor if the blurriness does not clear up within a few minutes of waking. If it lasts for hours, there may be a problem. Also see a doctor if you have pain, redness, or sensitivity to light. If you see halos or rainbows around lights, you may have glaucoma. If your vision is blurry in only one eye, see a doctor. If you have a headache, nausea, or vomiting with blurry vision, go to the emergency room. These could be signs of a stroke or other serious condition.
3. How can I prevent blurry vision in the morning?
If dry eye is the cause, use artificial tears before bed. You can also use a humidifier in your bedroom. If you sleep with your eyes partially open, try wearing a sleep mask. This keeps the air from drying your eyes. If you have allergies, take your allergy medicine before bed. Wash your face to remove pollen and dust. Never sleep in your contact lenses. They reduce oxygen flow to your corneas. Your corneas can swell, causing blurry vision. Always remove your contacts before sleeping.