Sleeping In Your Make-Up Could Damage Your Eyes

by Emma Barlow | 25 March 2016

The study conducted by the UK's most trusted eye healthcare group has revealed which eye-damaging habits Britons admit to, with 78% of British women confessing that they frequently go to sleep with eye make-up still on. Furthermore, just under a quarter of these women do so to 'keep up appearances.'

In a bid to discover more about Britons' attitudes towards their eye health, as well as how well they look after their eyes, a specialist eye hospital group has conducted research to uncover the most common bad habits Britons have when it comes to their eyes and sight.

Researchers on behalf of www.Optegra.com polled a total of 2,143 UK-based adults aged 18 and over for the purpose of the study. Of those polled, 1,069 were male and 1,074 were female.

Initially, all respondents were asked if they felt they took good care of their eyes, to which 67% confessed that they did not. Researchers then asked all individuals if they regarded their eye health as important, with the majority (72%) stating they rarely thought about the wellbeing of their eyes.

To further understand which bad eye habits Britons had picked up over the years, researchers asked all respondents a series of related questions. 47% of the respondents wore contact lenses and these participants were asked if they ever slept with their lenses left in. The majority, 51%, admitted that they had done at some point in the past, but 33% said that they did so frequently.

Those who told researchers they had left contact lenses in overnight were then asked why this was. 59% did so because they were 'too tired to take them out', 37% left them in as they were 'too drunk to take them out properly' and the remaining 4% stated it was because they 'forgot.'

Researchers then asked all female participants if they ever fell asleep leaving their eye make-up on and 78% admitted they did so regularly. To understand why this was, researchers asked these respondents to provide a reason, with the majority (67%) stating that they 'never' took their make-up off after a night out and 23% stating that they left their make-up on to keep up appearances when sleeping next to their partner or a potential love interest.

Following on from this, researchers asked all respondents if they wore sunglasses when required, with 77% stating that they didn't. When asked why this was, 41% stated it was due to them not suiting their face, 12% stated they often forgot them and 10% did not think not wearing sunglasses was a big deal. 62% of the people taking part in the poll said that they either worked on a computer regularly or spent long periods of time in front of a screen; with only 13% of these claiming to take regular breaks away from the screen to give their eyes a break.

Rory Passmore, Managing Director at Optegra Eye Health Care, commented "Everyone seems to be becoming more health aware, with kale and other superfoods growing in popularity and gym memberships becoming the norm, however we often forget to look after a very important organ in our bodies. Our eyes. Habits like forgetting to take off your make-up at night or leaving your contact lenses in can cause horrific infections which have the potential to damage your eyes in the long run. Not wearing sunglasses when it is required also has a hugely detrimental effect on your long term eye health. UV rays are incredibly powerful and should not be underestimated. Always take good care of your eyes or you may regret it in the future."