I've made quite the discovery just recently.
I have been struggling with sore, red eyes especially first thing in the morning. And I've been struggling with waking up feeling like I've just cycled a century rather than sleeping.
I've tried different things ...
-- drops in my eyes when I wake up
-- no coffee after 5 pm
-- chamomile tea in the evening
-- putting on relaxing music late in the evening before bed and turning down the lights
-- reading something relaxing before I fall asleep
-- a sleep monitor that records what I do in the night ... maybe I do get up and ride a century!
The drops in the morning helped a bit, the relaxing techniques ensured I fell asleep within about 5 minutes, and the sleep monitor revealed I snore a little right at the beginning of the night but then seem to sleep all right.
The other night, about 10 days ago, I was dozing off and somewhere in between that wake and sleep state when I suddenly felt like my eyes weren't entirely closed. Then I got to wondering ... am I sleeping with my eyes slightly open? It is a thing. It does happen to some people.
One of the simplest solutions for that is to put drops in the eyes before bed and to wear an eye mask at night. So I went out and got a lightweight one. That night ... drops in the eyes, eye mask on ... and I had one of the better night's sleeps I've had in a while! Plus my eyes were less red and sore and I was less puffy around the eyes.
I've gone to a bigger, heavier eye mask and have slept with it two nights now. So far, I like it better.
Who would have thought that a simple eye mask would make such a difference!
But there is evidence that blocking out the light can help.
https://www.sleepfoundation.org/arti...-promote-sleep