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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Why are sleep-deprived eyes dry? Tear-film chemistry offers a clue

After inadequate slumber, the layer of tears on the eye’s surface contains high levels of damaging molecules.
An illustration of dividing limbal stem cells, red cells on a black background.

Artist’s impression of the stem cells that replenish the human cornea. Similar cells in mice multiply more than usual after sleep deprivation. Credit: Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library

The red, dry eyes brought on by a sleepless night could be fuelled by changes in the tear film that lead to over-proliferation of cells in the cornea, animal experiments suggest1.

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Nature 605, 11 (2022)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01159-3

References

  1. Li, S. et al. Stem Cell Rep. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.stemcr.2022.03.017 (2022).

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