7 Reasons Your Eyes Are *Super* Red When You Wake Up, and How to Refresh Them

Every morning, the first place you likely go is your bathroom. After shuffling over, you flip on the bathroom light switch and take a quick gander at yourself in the mirror. Normally, your tired eyes look a little puffy or droopy, as you’re still shaking off sleep. But if you’ve noticed recently that your eyes look more irritated (or even thought: why are my eyes so red when I wake up?) you could be dealing with something more than plain old sleepiness.

Don’t worry: Most of the time, bloodshot eyes in the morning means something irritated or dried out your peepers throughout the night, according to Meenal Agarwal, OD, an optometrist in Ontario, Canada. Though in certain cases, eye redness can point to things like infection or an underlying eye condition.

Here, learn the most common reasons for red eyes in the morning, and what you can do to help relieve and refresh them.

7 causes of red eyes when you wake up

1. You have dry eyes

One of the most common reasons for eye redness in the morning is dry eye, says Dr. Agarwal. “When we sleep, our eyes naturally produce fewer tears. This can cause your eyes to feel dry and irritated, which can lead to redness or bloodshot eyes in the morning,” she explains. Dry eyes in the morning can also come with stinging or burning, sensitivity to light, or feeling like there’s something gritty in them.

Dry eyes can happen to anyone at any time, but you might be more prone to them in the morning if you spent hours scrolling on your phone the night before. In fact, staring at a screen causes you to blink less, which can cause or worsen dryness, per the Mayo Clinic. Sleeping in a dry room or being dehydrated can also lead to waking up with dry eyes and redness, per Dr. Agarwal.

2. Your eyes are strained

Eye strain and dryness often go hand in hand, and both can make your eyes red. “Nowadays, we see eye strain as a major cause of eye redness even in children,” says Dr. Agarwal. Again, “we spend a lot of time staring and not blinking when looking at screens or reading in low light, so we wake up with bloodshot eyes,” she adds. Even playing video games or spending time doing hobbies that call for intense eye focus (like sewing or crafting) into the wee hours of the night can strain your eyes.

Besides redness, strained eyes might also feel watery, itchy, or burn. They’ll feel tired, too, to the point where you might struggle to keep your eyes open, per the Cleveland Clinic.

3. You’re sleep deprived

This may feel self-explanatory, but an extreme lack of sleep could be another reason you’re waking up with bloodshot eyes. It’s true: consistently staying up too late (or having your sleep disrupted throughout the night) can make your eyes look like they’re on fire. In other words, red eyes from lack of sleep will look tired and irritated. “This can cause the blood vessels in your eyes to dilate, making them appear more red,” Dr. Agarwal explains.

4. It’s allergies

Environmental allergies (to things like pollen, grass, ragweed, mold, or even dust) that aren’t properly managed can also make your eyes red and itchy during the day or night. They may also come with other allergy symptoms like congestion, sneezing, coughing, fatigue, shortness of breath, or skin rashes, per the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology (ACAAI).

This type of redness likely comes from histamine—a chemical that your body releases when it comes in contact with an allergen. In an attempt to get the allergen out of your body, histamine triggers a cascade of inflammatory reactions, including widening the blood vessels in your eyes, per the ACAAI. The result? Lots of redness and irritation.

5. You have pink eye

If you wake up and your eyes are super swollen, teary, crusty, and red, you may have pink eye—a contagious eye infection caused by a virus or bacteria, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.  Less commonly, pink eye can occur due to allergies or exposure to something toxic, according to the Cleveland Clinic. Viral and bacterial forms of pink eye can occur in one or both eyes. It’s caused by coming into contact with someone who’s infected. For example, maybe you shared a face towel with someone in your household who’s infected and woke up with red eyes.

If you’re not sure whether you have pink eye or just very dry eyes, certain symptoms can clue you in. Pink eye tends to cause goopy discharge, whereas dry eye discharge is usually stringy. With pink eye, your eyes may be itchy, as well as dry, and you may feel as if you have something stuck in your eye, per the Cleveland Clinic. Pink eye also tends to come on suddenly while dry eye tends to be a problem that comes and goes, Dr. Agarwal explains.

6. It’s uveitis

Uveitis—doctor-speak for inflammation inside your eye—could be one of the reasons you’re thinking why is my eye red all the time? This type of inflammation can stem from an infection, but it can also be a chronic side effect of certain autoimmune conditions like inflammatory bowel disease or rheumatoid arthritis. While you may notice more redness in the morning, symptoms like eye pain, blurry vision, and sensitivity to light can happen 24/7, per the National Eye Institute. Left untreated, uveitis can cause vision loss—so don’t ignore it. Let your doctor know, and they can prescribe steroids to clear up the inflammation.

7. You have eyelid inflammation (aka, blepharitis)

Blepharitis is inflammation that happens on your eyelids specifically. It tends to be a chronic problem that can happen when the oil glands near the base of your eyelids get clogged, which can make them irritated and inflamed. That can make your eyes red, watery, swollen, itchy, crusty, or even greasy, especially first thing in the morning, according to the Mayo Clinic. And FWIW, swollen eyelids from blepharitis is especially common in people who have rosacea—a skin condition that causes redness on the face, per the Mayo Clinic.

How to treat red eyes when you wake up

Whether your bloodshot eyes are lack of sleep-induced or from allergies and irritation, these treatment options can help:

Lubricating eye drops

If dryness is the culprit, lubricating eye drops (aka, artificial tears) can add back hydration, which will help make your eyes more comfortable and less red, Dr. Agarwal says. Try TheraTears Dry Eye Therapy.

Warm compress

Plagued by crusting or stringiness too? Pressing a warm compress on your lids for a few minutes can help you gently de-gunk, says the American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO). You can make a compress by dampening a small towel with warm water or heating up a hot water bottle and putting it over your eye(s). Just make sure it’s warm, not hot. Meanwhile, resist the urge to rub, which can introduce germs around your eye area and put you at risk for an infection.

Allergy meds

If seasonal or environmental allergies are messing with your eyes, your doctor might recommend an allergy med. Over-the-counter (OTC) oral meds like Claritin (loratadine) or Zyrtec (cetirizine) are typical first options, because they help fight symptoms throughout your body. If your eyes need extra attention, OTC anti-histamine eye drops for allergies—like Alaway (ketotifen) or Pataday (olopatadine)—or prescription eyedrops (like Crolom or Alomide) are another good bet, per the Mayo Clinic.

Other prescription meds

If you’re dealing with an infection or inflammation, you may need another type of prescription medication. For example, bacterial pink eye is usually treated with antibiotics, while uveitis typically requires steroids to tamp down inflammation. Your doctor will know what the right medicine is for you based on symptoms.

Redness-relieving drops

As for anti-redness drops like Lumify or Visine? “While they won’t solve the underlying problem, they can help improve the appearance of your eyes,” Dr. Agarwal explains. The downside is that using them too often can actually cause rebound redness (like how using Afrin too often can make you more congested), per the AAO. So use them sparingly, she advises, like if you get red eyes after swimming. If you’re reaching for them more than once in a while, see your doctor to brainstorm other fixes.

TheraTears Dry Eye Therapy (2 pack) — $26.94

How to prevent red eyes while sleeping

Once you’ve got redness under control, you may wonder what to do to keep it from coming back, especially during your slumber. Here are some strategies to try before dozing off:

• Control underlying conditions. If your doc has recommended any kind of medication to manage your eye symptoms, be sure to take them regularly.
• Limit your allergen exposure. Keep irritants out of your home as much as possible by closing the windows, using a HEPA filter in your HVAC system, or using a HEPA-filtered air purifier, Dr. Agarwal recommends. This is a great option to prevent allergies naturally.
• Run a humidifier in your bedroom. It can add moisture back into the air to combat dryness, Dr. Agarwal says. Aim for 30 to 50 percent humidity; more than that can encourage the growth of mold and dust mites that can make eye irritation worse, per the Mayo Clinic.
• Be mindful of your screen use. You know the drill: Try to avoid or limit your exposure to screens at least one hour before bed. Not only will it take strain off your eyes, but it’ll help you sleep better.
• Get enough sleep. Aim for 7 to 9 hours per night, recommends the National Institutes of Health. That’ll give your eyes the rest they need so they’re less prone to redness and irritation in the morning.

When to see an eye doctor

Waking up with red eyes every now and then is likely no big deal. But if it happens often, consider reaching out to an eye doctor. “If you’re unsure or if your symptoms are severe, worsening, or accompanied by pain, vision changes, light sensitivity, or swelling in or around the eye, it is best to see your optometrist for a proper diagnosis and treatment,” Dr. Agarwal recommends.

FAQ

Can dehydration cause red eyes?

Too little H2O can dry out tissue all over your body—eyes included. “Our bodies produce tears to lubricate our eyes and wash away irritants, and tears are primarily composed of water. When you’re dehydrated, your body prioritizes using water for other vital functions, leading to a decrease in tear production,” Dr. Agarwal explains. And when your eyes get dry from too few tears, they can also get red.

Can high blood pressure cause red eyes?

Not usually, but it could cause worse problems. Untreated high blood pressure can lead to hypertensive retinopathy, where normal blood flow to your retina (i.e., the tissue at the back of your eye) becomes disrupted from blood vessel damage. Most people don’t have symptoms early on, but eventually, it can lead to vision loss, per the Cleveland Clinic. Your eye doctor will usually check for signs of hypertensive retinopathy during a standard eye checkup, so be sure to schedule regular visits.

Is pink eye worse in the morning?

Pink eye can come on suddenly, so you might go to bed feeling basically fine and wake up with a full-blown case of redness, swelling, itching, and gooping, Dr. Agarwal says. Also? The discharge that tends to happen with pink eye can build up around your eyelid as you sleep, which can lead to a lot of nasty crusting when you first wake up, according to the Mayo Clinic.

—reviewed by Jennifer Logan, MD, MPH