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“The Mystery Behind Sleeping”
What the “Sleep” In Your Eyes Is?
what causes the “sleep” or “eye crusties” you may have
around your eyes in the morning.
“Sleep” is a type of “rheum”, which is the name for
discharge from your nose, mouth or eyes during sleep. More specifically, eye rheum is known as
“gound”. Gound is made up of a mixture
of dust, blood cells, skin cells, etc. mixed with mucus secreted by the conjunctiva, as well as
an oily substance from the meibomian glands.
The meibomian glands are a type of sebaceous gland that
line the rim of the eyelids with about fifty on the top and twenty five on the
bottom of each eye. They secrete an oily
substance called meibum that performs a variety of functions including: helps
seal your eyes in an air tight fashion when they are closed; prevents tears
from spilling onto your cheeks; and helps keep tears that coat your eyes from
evaporating. It is this oily substance
that is one of the primary components in gound, mixed with mucin from the
conjunctiva and various foreign particles in your eye.
Normally, when you are awake, the gound is naturally
washed away via tears and the blinking motion.
However, as you sleep, you obviously don’t blink so the meibomian
secretions and other components of the gound tend to gather in the corners of
your eyes, as well as along your eye lines and dries out, creating hard
yellow-ish “eye boogers”.
Some
more Facts:
1. The round pinkish area on the inner part of the eye is
actually made up of two distinct parts, the caruncula lachrymalis, which is the
bulging section that secretes tears, and the plica semilunaris, which is the
crescent moon-shaped part that is thought to be a remnant of a “third eyelid”
often seen in birds and certain other animals, making it a vestigial organ.
2. For most people, gound isn’t a big deal. However, for some with overactive glands or
underachieving tear ducts, the gound can actually cause the eye to be sealed
shut.
3. The best way to “un-glue” eyes sealed shut by gound is
to take warm water and wet a washcloth and then gently wash the eyes until you are able to open them. Alternatively, you
can take a cotton ball and soak it in warm water mixed with a small amount of
salt (a teaspoon or so) and rub it along the area that’s sealed shut by the
gound. Next, you can use a cotton swab
to carefully remove the remaining gound from your eye lids. If you can manage to get to the shower, you
can also simply just allow the steam and the hot water to naturally moisten the
gound until you are able to open your eyes.
[image source: photostock.com]
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