Published on: 6/20/2025
What might cause my eyes to feel heavy and tired constantly?
Your eyes might feel heavy and tired if you are not getting enough sleep, experiencing a side effect from a medication, and/or experiencing a health condition.
Explanation
When your eyes feel heavy and tired all the time, it could be due to a few different reasons.
Lack of Sleep: Not sleeping enough can make your eyes feel tired. When you don't get enough rest, your eyes may feel heavy and uncomfortable.
Medication Side Effect: Various medications can cause fatigue as a side effect, which can make your eyes feel tired and heavy. For example, some antihistamines, some pain medications, and some antidepressants can make you feel tired.
Some Health Conditions: Some health conditions can cause eye symptoms. For example, dry eye disease is when your eyes don't make enough tears so they can get dry and feel tired, heavy, and uncomfortable. Another common example is sleep apnea. A less common example is fibromyalgia, which is a condition that can cause pain all over the body and also make your eyes feel tired and heavy.
If you are worried about your eyes feeling tired all the time, a healthcare professional can give you a personalized assessment and treatment plan.
(References)
- Filtness AJ, Anund A, Fors C, Ahlström C, Akerstedt T, & Kecklund G. (2014). Sleep-related eye symptoms and their potential for .... Journal of sleep research, 24861146.
- Zdebik N, Zdebik A, Bogusławska J, Przeździecka-Dołyk J, & Turno-Kręcicka A. (2021). Fibromyalgia syndrome and the eye-A review. Survey of ophthalmology, 32512032.
- Lee JD, Kim HY, Park JJ, Oh SB, Goo H, Cho KJ, et al. (2021). Metabolomics approach to biomarkers of dry eye disease .... Journal of toxicology and environmental health. Part A, 33393448.
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