This Is What Can Happen To Your Eyes If You Sleep With Your Contact Lenses In

When it comes to a bedtime routine, there is a step-by-step process most of us generally abide by.

Yours might typically include brushing your teeth, washing your face, showering, putting on your pajamas, and, if you wear them, taking out your contact lenses before finally laying down to go to sleep.

Except, some people actually sleep in their contacts, which takes the concept of laziness to a whole other level, if you ask me.

The truth is, although it may be another annoying thing you have to do before you can finally relax for the night, that extra step is very much worth it.

You really don't want to sleep in your contact lenses. As you may have guessed, it isn't good for your eye health like, at all.

Your eyeballs need to breathe, girl.

As in, they quite literally need oxygen.

And the only way for them to get it is to be exposed to the air. When you wear contact lenses, the oxygen supply to your eyes becomes limited -- but that's not all.

When you close your eyes to sleep, the already-limited oxygen supply decreases even more in quantity.

And if your eyes can't breathe, the consequences can be kind of disastrous.

The cornea of your eyes can swell up, so much so, in fact, that gaps can appear between the surface cells of the eye.

As if that in and of itself doesn't sound scary enough, those gaps can invite bacteria into the area, which can ultimately lead to infection.

But get this: If you have bacteria in your eye while wearing your contacts, the lenses can act as a case and just hold the bacteria there for as long as they want.

Yeah, your contact lenses can hold bacteria like cereal in a damn bowl.

If that is not absolutely disgusting to you, then I don't know what is.

If you are reading this and thinking, “Sh*t, I've definitely slept in my contact lenses once or twice,” there's no need to panic.

First of all, if you've done this before, it's probably in your best interest not to make a habit out of it.

But, hey, accidents happen every now and then. If you unintentionally fall asleep with your contacts in, be sure to remove them from your eyes as soon as you wake up, and do not wear them for the rest of the day. Your eyes need the air they weren't able to receive throughout the night.

In the end, think about whether the risks here are really worth the "hassle" of taking those extra couple of minutes to remove your contacts before you go to sleep.

No amount of fatigue should stop you from taking care of the health of your eyes. After all, they're kind of important, don't you think?