Why do I wake up with swollen eyes? Treatments and Causes
Starting your day off with puffy eyes can hamper your confidence and add to dullness & laziness. Puffy eyelids are very common but nobody likes to have them. Dark circles and puffiness are not of much concern when they can be treated with simple techniques, but if they appear routinely, or last days long, one should see a doctor. Maintaining a work and personal life balance sometimes become hectic, resulting in neglected self care, causing the swelling under eyes. Waking up with puffy eyes makes you ask yourself “why do I get puffy eyes in the morning?”
So, let’s discuss the causes and the treatments of the swollen eyes in the morning.
What Are the Causes of Puffy Eyes In The Morning?
Puffy eyes can be caused by different reasons, be it late night work or a few extra glasses of wine or underlying condition, or genetics, we have enlisted all the causes of puffy eyes here:
Lack of sleep
The quality and quantity of your sleep plays a key role for swollen eyes in the morning. On average, adults need 7 to 9 hours of sleep everyday. When you don’t get adequate sleep, there is an increase in the fluids and blood retention may occur around your eyes. This shows up as puffiness and dark circles. A healthy sleep routine helps you prepare for bed and get a good sleep:
- Reduced screen time by turning off the electronic devices at least 1 hour before going to bed.
- Eat a light meal 3 hours before bedtime.
- No caffeine consumption 6 hours before sleep.
- Avoid alcohol consumption at sleeptime.
Allergies
If you are allergic to pollen or certain food items then it can show up as puffy eyes. When you suffer from an allergic reaction, your body produces histamine which can lead to puffiness, redness and irritation in response. Puffiness is common with seasonal allergies, and if not season or related to food, then look at your surroundings and try to figure out what could be causing the reaction: a new carpet or new bedsheets or new brand of detergent or anything in the bedroom like a plant or decor, all could be causative agents to the allergic reaction. Sleeping with open windows can make you come in contact with the pollens or allergens from outside. Allergies make you rub your eyes more often resulting in further swelling under your eyes. Consult a doctor for the treatment to relieve the symptoms.
High salt intake
High salt intake causes swollen eyelids as excessive salt leads fluid retention in the body. FDA recommends 2300mg of salt consumption per day. Processed foods, ketchups, instant soups, cheese, packaged meats and breads are high in salt content; so replacing these with fresh vegetables, fruits with the seasoning of herbs and spices to flavor your food, would help in controlling extra salt intake.
Inactive lifestyle
Lack of exercise can lead to fluid retention. This can show up as puffiness on your face and eyelids. If you lay down often, it can cause swelling under your eyes. Exercising regularly will improve blood circulation and reduce the chances of fluid retention.
Insufficient water intake
When you don’t drink enough water, your body starts retaining water to store and stock up for future water needs. This can lead to puffiness and swelling on your face and body, especially in the morning, as usually a whole night is spent without any water consumption. It’s essential to ensure that you drink 6-8 glasses of water every day. Keeping your body hydrated will reduce swelling and puffiness around your eyes.
You should avoid tea and coffee consumption nearing bedtime, as it leads to excessive urination and dehydration during sleep. Setting an hourly reminder on your phone can encourage you to drink more water, and stay hydrated.
Aging
The skin under and around your eyes is very thin. As the age progresses, the tissues in your eyelids and the eye muscles weaken, causing the fat in your upper eyelids to rest on your lower eyelids. Also the space below the eyes tends to accumulate fluids causing puffy eyes.
Using an anti aging eye cream to prevent puffiness and restore skin firmness is recommended as your age advances.
When choosing an anti-aging eye cream, look for ingredients such as:
- Bakuchiol – a natural alternative to Retinol that boosts skin elasticity and firmness.
- Hyaluronic Acid – which replenishes the skin and acts as a moisture.
- Niacinamide – it reduces the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles.
- Natural plant based extracts like Aloe Vera, Sandalwood, Amber, and Cherry that can help reduce dark circles and eye bags.
Sleeping with contact lenses
This can encourage bacterial growth from the gaps between the lens and eye surface. Which can lead to various eye conditions causing swollen eyes. Always remove your contact lenses before sleeping! Frequently take a total break from lenses and use glasses if needed, providing your eyes natural time to rejuvenate.
Excessive alcohol consumption
A heavy night of drinks can result in swollen under eyes in the morning. Alcohol intake results in dehydration in the body, and bloating and water retention on the face. Avoiding alcohol at bedtime, skipping that extra glass at the party, and choosing fruit juice or flavored water over alcoholic beverages can help avoid puffy eyed mornings.
Smoking
It damages skin cells, and reduces the count of necessary skin vitamins like vitamin C, leaving the skin dehydrated causing bags under the eyes. Smoking breaks down the skin elasticity and collagen which affects the skin firmness. Nicotine also disrupts the natural sleep cycle, due to the nocturnal nicotine withdrawal symptoms, resulting in dark circles, baggy eyes and puffy eyelids in the morning.Menstrual periods
Ladies usually notice that their body is bloated during menstruation. The hormonal imbalance causes water retention, and bloating in the body resulting in puffy eyes on waking up from sleep. This usually weans off after the periods are over.
Crying
When you cry, the lacrimal glands of the eyes overproduce the tears. The difference in the pH of the surrounding eye tissue and the excessive tears causes swelling of the eyelids.
Cold and cough
In sicknesses like cold and cough the cavities in the face that drain out the excessive fluid gets blocked due to congestion. This leads to swollen and puffy eyes in the morning due to accumulation of fluids around your eyes at night.
Over sleeping
As we sleep the process of blinking eyes stops. Blinking for eyes is like walking for legs. When at rest the muscles tend to trap fluids causing edema, which goes away when the muscles are again into action. This kind of swelling of eyes is seen in some people who usually sleep more than 11 to 12 hours a day. These swollen eyelids in the morning vanish normally after a few hours of waking up.
Health issues
Health conditions like high blood pressure, kidney problems and thyroid issues can cause puffiness of eyes. Skin conditions like lupus, sjogren’s syndrome, dermatomyositis, connective tissue disorders, and cellulitis can be the causative factors of swollen eyes. Conjunctivitis, rhinitis, sinusitis also cause puffy eyes. Proper examination, treatment from a medical professional and follow-ups are a must in such cases.
Genetics
Having under-eye bags can be a family trait. The puffy eyes characteristic may run in your family. This is sometimes difficult to treat permanently.
Anything in excess or lower than the requirement of the body, affects it. Skin being the mirror of the body, reflects every little problem like dry skin, dark circles, puffy eyes, swollen eyelids, cracked lips or wrinkles. Working on the causes of puffy eyes helps accomplish the required results.
How To Get Rid Of Puffy Eyes In The Morning?
Use cold compresses
Applying ice or cold water to puffy eyes can help depuff the eyes. Use a clean towel, wet it or put some ice cubes in it, and gently apply it to the skin around and under your eyes for a few minutes. Also placing a cool washcloth on your eyelids for 10 minutes reduces puffy eyes. Ice packs, cooling gel pads, frozen bags of vegetables, and refrigerated spoons can also be used by placing them over the swollen eyes. This can help drain excess fluid from under your eyes. Cold compression reduced the swelling and inflammation deflating the puffiness.
Use cucumber slices
Chilled cucumber slices can help depuff your eyes and soothe them. The high water content in cucumber makes it work as a natural cooling under eye gel pads, which has been used in spa therapies since ages. Wash the cucumber slice, refrigerate it and then apply onto the eyes, to instantly get rid of the swollen eyes in the morning.
Use tea bags
Tea Bags contain antioxidants and caffeine which constricts blood vessels around the eyes reducing the puffiness. Simply wet two tea bags and refrigerate them for 20 minutes and then place them on your eyes.
Gently tap or massage the skin around the eyes
Massaging the skin under and around the eyes can help improve blood circulation and reduce puffiness. Gently sweep your fingers from the inside corner of your eye to outward. Using two fingers of each hand, tap your sinuses, starting on either side of your nose and working outward. This should help get the fluid moving and reduce puffiness.
Sleep with elevated head position
Use a few pillows under your head while sleeping. This avoids the fluid accumulation on the face and around your eyes, reducing the occurrence of swollen eyelids in the morning. You can also use bed risers for elevating the head of your bed. This technique is easy and often shows desired results.
Eat potassium rich foods
Foods like yogurt, beans, bananas, oranges, raisins, dates are rich sources of potassium. Potassium reduces the excessive body fluids and results in non-puffy eyes.
Use an under eye cream with a roller
Under eye cream with ingredients such as Coffee Oil, chamomile, chia seed oil, cucumber, and arnica helps reduce puffy eyes. These ingredients tightens the under eye skin and lowers the inflammation. Rollers stimulate the collagen formation reducing fine lines, wrinkles, dark circles, pigmentations, crepiness and appearance of swollen eyes in morning.
The Moms Co. Recommends Best Products To Reduce Puffiness Under Eyes:
- The Moms Co. Natural Vita Rich Under Eye Cream
This under eye cream has Coffee Oil along with Hyaluronic Acid and Chia Seed Oil which depuff the puffy and swollen eyes. It also moisturizes the delicate skin under the eyes while reducing the dark circles. It comes with a roller which helps in easy application of the under eye cream and gently massages the skin under the eyes, leaving the skin feeling refreshed and brighter.
- The Moms Co. Vita Rich Under Eye Care Combo
This is an amazing and best suited combo for puffy eyes, it includes a gentle cleanser which maintains the natural moisture of the skin infused with ingredients like niacinamide excellent in balancing skin’s oil production, Vitamin C promoting skin elasticity and Chamomile oil giving cooling effect to the skin reducing the inflammation and swelling under the eyes.
- The Moms Co. Natural Age Control Under Eye Cream
This under eye cream has all ingredients like caffeic acid, cucumber extract, Vitamin C, Hyaluronic acid, and bakuchiol which works wonders in reducing puffiness, dark circles, fine lines and wrinkles.
Now you know how to get rid of puffy eyes! So try these remedies and say a forever goodbye to the puffy swollen eyes in the morning.
How Long Does It Take For Puffy Eyes To Go Away?
Unfortunately, there’s no set time within which people can find relief from puffy eyes. It differs from skin to skin and person to person; and mainly on the causes of puffy eyes in the first place. If your eyes are swollen due to lack of sleep or exercise, eating foods high in salt or drinking too much alcohol then it will eventually go away with interventions such as using a cool compress and drinking water. Using an under eye cream with a massaging roller will also help reduce puffiness in the morning. However, if your puffiness is caused by allergies or doesn’t go away even after 2-3 days then it’s best to consult a doctor and follow their advice.
When the swelling under eyes is severe, persistent, ichy, painful or red, consulting an ophthalmologist is important. If there is swelling over other body parts like legs, you should see a doctor. The doctor would rule out the medical condition causing periorbital edema like:
- Thyroid disease
- Infection
- Allergy
- Skin disorder
- Periorbital cellulitis
- Conjunctivitis
- Sinusitis
- Mononucleosis
- Nephrotic syndrome
- Eye wound
- Chagas disease
The doctor may ask you to do some investigations like: blood tests, allergy tests, imaging tests, and also a biopsy if needed. You might also be suggested some OTC medicines like:
- Anti-histamines
- Corticosteroids
- Antibiotics
At times a cosmetic surgery, laser treatments, fillers and chemical peels can also be suggested for persistent swollen eyes which do not reduce with home remedies for puffy eyes and lifestyle modifications. Fillers incorporate hyaluronic acid which works wonders for reducing puffy eyes and dark circles.
The swollen eyes in the morning are common due to lack of sleep, seasonal allergies, unhealthy lifestyle and poor diet. Trying the easy home remedies for puffy eyes, along with some trusted natural products to overcome the puffiness in a short time. Chronic baggy, swollen eyes need medical intervention pointing towards a health condition or infection, which should not be neglected. Leading a healthy life with few required changes are a key to achieving a healthy life with beautiful, radiant and blemish free skin.
