Sleeping too little or too much puts you at increased risk of glaucoma, says study

If you are someone who doesn't get much sleep, or someone who sleeps too much, then you are at a high risk of glaucoma, a common eye condition that affects millions of people and can lead to blindness, according to a decade-long study. Snoring, daytime sleepiness and insomnia can also increase the risk of the same.

Scientists have been trying to understand the long-term implications of poor sleep and as part of the study, they roped in 400,000 people in the UK. It was the world’s first large prospective cohort study to understand sleep behaviours and patterns and glaucoma.

The results were published in the journal BMJ Open. It suggests that people with unhealthy sleep patterns have an increased risk of developing glaucoma which can lead to loss of vision if not diagnosed and treated early. Glaucoma will likely affect 112 million people worldwide by 2040, Guardian reported.

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“Snoring, daytime sleepiness, insomnia, and short/long duration, individually or jointly, were all associated with the risk of glaucoma,” the team concluded.

The researchers said that the study highlights the importance of healthy sleep patterns and of eye tests among those suffering from chronic sleep disorders. Sleep therapy can also help such people who are at risk of developing glaucoma, the researchers said.

“These findings underscore the need for sleep intervention for individuals at high risk of glaucoma as well as potential ophthalmologic screening among individuals with chronic sleep problems for glaucoma prevention.”

While never has any direct cause of glaucoma been established, previous studies cite that poor sleep might be a possible reason. The latest study aimed to further explore the relation between the two under which 409,053 people aged 40 to 69 were recruited between 2006 and 2010.

Data about their sleep patterns and whether or not they had developed glaucoma was collected. 8,690 cases of glaucoma were identified in the follow-up period of almost 11 years.

The researchers found that those who snored and complained of daytime sleepiness carried an 11 per cent increased risk of glaucoma as compared to people with a healthy sleep pattern. On the other hand, insomnia and sleeping too much or too little was linked to a 13 per cent increased risk.

(With inputs from agencies)