Study says sleeping too little or too much puts you at increased risk of glaucoma

A decade-long study says if you don’t get enough sleep or sleep too much, you are at a high risk of glaucoma, a common eye condition that affects millions of people and can lead to blindness. Snoring, daytime sleepiness and insomnia can all raise the risk.

Scientists have been attempting to understand the long-term consequences of inadequate sleep, and as part of the study, 400,000 people in the United Kingdom were recruited. It was the world’s first large prospective cohort study to find out the relationship between sleep 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.

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

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.