Where you lay your head may not be best for your eyes. Doctors know intraocular pressure (IOP) rises at night and when the patient is in the supine position. To mitigate the effect on patients with glaucoma, and those at-risk, some doctors have proposed glaucoma patients sleep sitting upright.
Eye pressure is affected by the rate of aqueous fluid production and drainage. Although aqueous fluid production decreases during sleep, intraocular pressure actually increases due to blocking of the drainage system when lying flat.
Glaucoma and Sleeping Positions
It's long been established that IOP levels are higher when people are horizontal than seated. Studies have confirmed that the extent of this difference is more significant in glaucoma patients.
These findings suggest that elevating the head using multiple pillows may not help to reduce IOP in the supine posture. To mitigate the effect on patients with more advanced stages of glaucoma, some eye providers will instruct their patients to sleep slightly upright.
The aqueous fluid doesn't drain efficiently when we lie flat on our back. The lack of drainage due to positioning during sleep can increase ocular pressure, which can strain the optic nerve and increase the risk of glaucoma.
A review done by Prata et al., examined the literature between 1960 and 2009 regarding glaucoma patients and posture induced IOP changes. They summarized that most studies were in agreement that glaucomatous patients had a greater IOP rise from the sitting to supine position.
Conclusion. Lateral and prone sleeping positions usually do result in significant elevations of IOP in PD patients. Dependency status did not make a difference. A significantly larger IOP increase was seen in the prone position than in the lateral position.
Considerable caffeine consumption may elevate intraocular eye pressure associated with glaucoma. Drinking more than five cups of caffeinated coffee per day can increase risk of glaucoma as well. Alcohol consumption should also be limited. Lastly, identify any food allergies.
In addition to avoiding caffeine, saturated fats, trans fatty acids, and salt in your daily diet, glaucoma patients should also consider avoiding any foods they're allergic to. Some of these lifestyle choices might be difficult to make, but they're more than worth it when maintaining eye health.
Get your doctor's OK before practicing inverted postures or any pose that places your head below your heart. Modify or substitute inverted poses to reduce their effects on eye pressure. Enter inverted postures slowly. Avoid strenuous inversions.
If your eyes become tired with prolonged concentration, you can rest them periodically - but please don't worry that you have done them any harm. Similarly, longer distance viewing such as driving, watching TV or going to the movies does not harm your eyes.
Maintaining a healthy weight, controlling your blood pressure, being physically active, and avoiding smoking will help you avoid vision loss from glaucoma. These healthy behaviors will also help prevent type 2 diabetes and other chronic conditions.
Without having your eye pressure tested by an eye care specialist, there's usually no way for you to feel or know that you have high eye pressure. It doesn't cause symptoms until it's damaged your optic nerve enough to affect your vision.
That sounds simple enough, except for the fact that eye pressure varies – sometimes quite dramatically. “Pressure is highest typically in the morning, when you're just waking up, and lowest in the afternoon,” says Johnson.
Drinking a quart of water in less than five minutes has been shown to increase intraocular pressure; instead, advise your patients to drink small amounts of water often to stay hydrated.
Glaucoma is a slowly progressing problem. On an average, untreated Glaucoma takes around 10-15 years to advance from early damage to total blindness. With an IOP (Intraocular Pressure) of 21-25 mmHg it takes 15 yrs to progress, an IOP of 25-30 mmHg around seven years and pressure more than 30 mmHg takes three years.
In this study, the effects of regulated breathing via contraction and expansion of the diaphragm as well as deep inhalation and exhalation revealed evidence of IOP reduction.
The most common treatment for glaucoma is prescription eye drops. They work by lowering the pressure in your eye and preventing damage to your optic nerve. These eye drops won't cure glaucoma or reverse vision loss, but they can keep glaucoma from getting worse.
In the worst-case scenario, stress can trigger an attack of acute angle-closure (also called narrow-angle) glaucoma. Angle-closure glaucoma is a medical emergency that requires immediate treatment to prevent vision loss.
Age. The major risk factor of primary open-angle glaucoma is age. As we get older, the drainage system no longer functions as well, and the eye pressure can gradually increase.
Fluid buildup, eye trauma, medications, and other eye conditions are all potential causes of an increase in eye pressure. Typically, one of the keys to reducing it is treating the root cause. It's important to remember that higher-than-normal pressure doesn't guarantee severe problems.
Particularly, Mg has been shown to improve the ocular blood flow in patients with glaucoma and may protect the retinal ganglion cell against oxidative stress and apoptosis [2, 3, 19].
Any kind of aerobic exercise is good for your heart and blood flow, which in turn is great for glaucoma patients. In fact, if you aren't already exercising, starting to exercise actually has a greater chance of helping to lower your eye pressure after diagnosis. Weight training–to a certain degree.