Is Sleeping with One Eye Open Harmful?

[iggybaseball]

My brother sleeps with one of his eyelids slightly open, allowing his eye to be exposed. It is really small (a sliver really). Has anyone heard about this? I'm also curious if it is harmful. On a sidenote, it's interesting to watch when he is in REM.

 

[Lisa!]

My mother is the same! I don't think it would be harmful though. And you know I've heard some people sleep with open eyes.(I mean the eyes are completely open during the sleep. )

 

[Mk]

Oh my god, that sounds weird Do the people sleeping with open eyes fall into a REM sleep?

 

[Lisa!]

Personally I've not seen any person who can sleep with open eyes, but I've heard it alot. ( I'm still in doubt about it .)

 

[eagleone]

Believe me it’s possible.
In my first high school year, we’ve (my class) organized trip to seaside. Organization was pretty poor ;), and we ended in some lousy hotel with 3 persons per 1 bed ratio :). We’ve packed ourselves in beds in sardine can fashion. And in about 5 am I’ve woke up, just to see guy by me, lying like dead. Both eyes wide open, with open mouth, almost not breathing. By the way he has large spooky blue eyes. I’ve waved in front of his head, and nothing, so I woke up everybody to see this. It’s totally crazy and funny in some way. We were loud enough so he woke up, and told us that he always sleep with his eyes open, I mean he starts sleeping with closed eyes, but after a while his eyes get opened.

 

[arildno]

Is your brother's name Gandalf?

 

[Lisa!]

Believe me it’s possible.
In my first high school year, we’ve (my class) organized trip to seaside. Organization was pretty poor ;), and we ended in some lousy hotel with 3 persons per 1 bed ratio :). We’ve packed ourselves in beds in sardine can fashion. And in about 5 am I’ve woke up, just to see guy by me, lying like dead. Both eyes wide open, with open mouth, almost not breathing. By the way he has large spooky blue eyes. I’ve waved in front of his head, and nothing, so I woke up everybody to see this. It’s totally crazy and funny in some way. We were loud enough so he woke up, and told us that he always sleep with his eyes open, I mean he starts sleeping with closed eyes, but after a while his eyes get opened.

For sure you were really scared at first!

 

[fargoth]

yeah, that sound spooky...

anyway, i found you something:

http://www.cdlsusa.org/publications/ask-the-doctor_sleeping-with-eyes-open.html

Q. My daughter sleeps with her eyes a little open and because of this, her eyes become dry. You told us last year at the Boston Convention that this could cause damage and you recommended ointments and patching to heal the corneas.

Our doctor here at home says, "We can't do ointments forever." He would like to try surgery to sew the eyelids together at the ends in order to help keep them closed at night.

Is this a permanent solution? Is it helpful? Do you know of other children who have had this surgery? Are there problems or concerns associated with this treatment?

Children with CdLS who have droopy eyelids (ptosis) may sleep with their eyes partly open because of the weakness in the upper eyelid. As a result, part of the eye will be exposed while the child is sleeping. Fortunately, two things protect the cornea (the crystal clear dome over the colored part of the eye) from drying out. Firstly, most children have a reflex, the Bell's phenomena, in which the eyes turn up when we sleep, thus leaving only the white of the eye exposed. Secondly, for unknown reasons, the cornea of children tends to be much more resistant to damage from exposure. Many children can sleep with their eyes partially open and never experience any problems.

In the rare situation where the eye is not automatically turning up during sleep and where the cornea is becoming dry, patients may be given lubricating ointments (artificial tear ointments) to keep the surface of the eye moist during sleep. This is usually very effective. Sometimes, if damage to the cornea is beginning to occur despite the use of ointment, one can use tape or a patch to keep the eyelids closed during sleep.

Sewing the outer and/or inner edges of the upper and lower lids together (tarsorrhaphy) is reserved for only the most severe cases of recalcitrant exposure. Certainly, one would not like to pursue this route of treatment just to eliminate the inconvenience of instilling ointment. However, when the cornea is becoming damaged despite ointments, tape or patching, then this would be a reasonable alternative.

If tarsorrhaphy must be done, the entire eyelids need not be fused together. To allow the eye to continue to see, only the outer and/or inner edges are put together, thus narrowing the opening between the eyelids. The procedure is done under general anesthesia. Once the wounds have healed, which occurs quite quickly, it is not painful. Some parents wonder how the child will resist opening the eyelids. In fact, this suspected desire to try and "fight" the effects of surgery does not occur. Tarsorrhaphy can make future examination of the eye more difficult since the opening between the eyelid is narrower. If a child has other ocular problems which will necessitate ongoing complete eye examinations, this may be another relative reason to try an alternative treatment.

and from here http://www.medhelp.org/forums/neuro/archive/11403.html

I sleep with my eyes partly open, and the real problem is that this leads to dry eyes in the morning. Questions:
1. Is this an indication of any other problem?
2. Is there an effective treatment - i.e. way to make the eyes stay shut at night?
3. If not, is there a good sympomatic treatment?

Thanks

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Dear Daryl:

Some normal people sleep with their eyes slightly open. This symptom, however, should prompt a search for an underlying neurological problem, namely bilateral facial weakness. One of the more common causes of such a problem, particularly if it has gone unnoticed by the individual, is a form of muscular dystrophy called facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy. This may be quite mild in some cases and may present only as some asymptomatic facial weakness and mild shoulder girdle muscle atrophy. It runs in families from generation to generation.

While there is no way of treating several of the causes of facial weakness, eyes could be held closed by pads, or even by surgery in extreme cases. I strongly recommend an evaluation by an ophthalmologist, and also by a neuromuscular specialist, the former being more urgent for the care of your eyes.

hope that helps...

 

[Lisa!]

Thanks, it helped!

 

[fargoth]

youre welcome, it was my pleasure