Khaberni - A scientific study has revealed that sleeping without a pillow may help in protecting the eyesight of patients with glaucoma (blue water disease in the eye), this condition meaning an increase of the fluid pressure inside the eye to a degree that affects the optic nerve which may result in a gradual decline in eye efficiency and could eventually lead to blindness.
The study conducted by a research team from several research institutions in China, including Zhejiang University and the Zhejiang Eye Diseases Research Center among others, and published in the scientific journal "British Journal of Ophthalmology" specialized in eye diseases, showed that placing pillows under the head while sleeping at night can raise eye pressure to potentially harmful levels.
The researchers measured eye pressure in 144 people suffering from glaucoma every two hours over a full day. The experiment revealed that when the volunteers lay flat, eye pressure decreased, but when the head was raised on two pillows during sleep, eye pressure significantly increased.
It was also found that raising the head on pillows during sleep leads to a decrease in blood flow to the eye, damaging the optic nerve that requires a constant supply of oxygen and nutrients, and the elevated position also puts pressure on the cervical nerve, preventing natural fluid drainage from the eye.
The researchers say that young patients and those with open-angle glaucoma are most harmed by sleeping on pillows. The researchers, in statements to the website "Health Day" specializing in medical research, confirmed that forgoing pillows during sleep is not a substitute for medical treatment or laser treatment for glaucoma patients, but maintaining the neck in a straight position can be a simple way to preserve eye pressure during sleep at night.
