Reduce Eye pressure by adjusting pillow heights while sleeping

New early research suggests that using multiple pillows while sleeping may increase eye pressure at night in people with glaucoma. The study, published in the British Journal of Ophthalmology, found that raising the head and neck during sleep could worsen nighttime eye pressure.

Researchers believe that sleeping with the head elevated may slow blood flow out of the veins in the neck. This can raise eye pressure and reduce blood flow to the eye—both of which are linked to glaucoma worsening.

The study involved 144 adults with different types of glaucoma. Their eye pressure was measured every two hours over 24 hours, both while sitting and lying down. At one point, participants lay flat, and at another, they slept with their heads raised by about 20–35 degrees using two pillows.

About two-thirds of the participants had higher eye pressure when their heads were elevated compared to lying flat. On average, eye pressure increased by about 1.6 mmHg, and pressure fluctuations during the day were greater with pillow use.

Blood flow to the optic nerve, measured by ocular perfusion pressure, was also lower when participants slept with their heads elevated. Reduced blood flow is considered a risk factor for optic nerve damage in glaucoma.

Younger patients and those with primary open-angle glaucoma showed bigger increases in eye pressure related to sleeping position.

To better understand why this happens, researchers studied a small group of healthy volunteers and found that using pillows narrowed the neck veins and changed blood flow. This supports the idea that bending the neck may block normal blood drainage and affect eye pressure.

Currently, high nighttime eye pressure is usually treated with more medication or laser therapy. The researchers suggest that adjusting sleep position could be a simple and low-risk approach worth studying further.

However, the study was observational and involved small groups, so it cannot prove cause and effect. More research is needed to confirm whether changing sleep posture can actually improve glaucoma outcomes.

Still, the findings highlight that sleep position may play a role in eye pressure at night and should be considered as part of overall glaucoma care.