Eyes leaking tears while you sleep can be startling. You may wonder if something is wrong or if the tears hold deeper meaning. In truth, crying during sleep is quite common, though the reasons behind nighttime weeping vary.
Getting to the root of sleep crying can provide insight and relief. Often, simple lifestyle changes curb the tears, while recurring night tears may warrant a doctor’s input.
Common Reasons for Crying During Sleep
Sleep crying stems from various sources. Below are some of the most prevalent causes of this mysterious midnight phenomenon:
Dry Eyes
Insufficient tear production leads to dry, irritated eyes. As we sleep, our blink rate drops significantly. Less blinking means less lubrication spreading across the eye’s surface. Reduced moisture can irritate eyes and stimulate reflexive tearing. Those prone to dry, tired eyes due to screen fatigue, contact lens use, or environmental factors are most susceptible.
Combat dryness by using preservative-free artificial tears before bedtime. Choose thicker gels or ointments that persist longer. Sleeping with a humidifier, avoiding airflow directly on your face, and taking occasional eye breaks while awake also helps provide welcome moisture to dry eyes.
Vivid or Emotional Dreams
Dreams wield incredible power over our sleeping subconscious. Emotionally-charged dream content often manifests physically as tears. Dreams involving grief, loss, fear, stress, tension, anger, or frustration commonly elicit a weepy response.
Keep a dream journal recording the images, events, and emotions that weave through your dreams. If excessive worrying or anxiety plague your waking hours, discuss relaxation strategies and stress reduction techniques with your doctor. Counseling also helps interpret dreams to uncover subconscious drivers of nighttime weeping.
Certain Medications
Various prescription and over-the-counter drugs list increased lacrimation – the production of tears – as a potential side effect. Oral medications most prone to induce sleep crying include antidepressants, blood pressure treatments, thyroid hormones, non-steroidal anti-inflammatories, diabetes drugs, statins, and some hormone replacement regimens.
If you experience onset of sleep crying after beginning a new medication, bring this reaction to your doctor’s attention. Adjusting the timing, dosage, or type of medication often curbs overnight waterworks. Ensure you take any eye irritation side effects seriously, as certain drugs pose ocular risks.
Hormone Changes
Hormones largely influence tear production and emotional sensitivity. During pregnancy, menstruation, and perimenopause, hormone fluctuations can trigger sleep crying. People susceptible to premenstrual syndrome and premenstrual dysphoric disorder also frequently report weepiness or night sweats and tears during their cycles.
Journaling helps identify any cyclic pattern to sleep crying corresponding with hormonal shifts. Stress management, moderate exercise, proper sleep, nutrition, and hydration helps stabilize hormones and minimize discomfort from related night weeping.
Interpreting the Meaning Behind Sleep Crying
Theories abound regarding hidden implications behind the unusual experience of shedding tears in sleep. Let’s explore two perspectives on what this phenomenon may signify:
Physical and Emotional Release
Tears represent the body’s mechanism for flushing stress chemicals and accumulated toxins from the system. At times, the sleeping self jolts awake briefly to consciously process racing thoughts and intense emotions like sorrow, anger, tension, or frustration.
When the conscious mind remains dormant, the unconscious takes over, allowing cathartic tears to flow freely as a healthy outlet for internal strife. In this manner, sleep crying provides a vital physiological release we don’t permit during waking hours when we cling to social expectations and emotional control.
Clues from the Subconscious
Dreams reflect the mysterious landscape of our subconscious mind – the storehouse concealing fears, trauma, heartache, memories, and secrets we hide even from ourselves during waking life. Tears shed during sleep often signal such inner turmoil boiling just below the surface.
Those prone to repeated sleep crying may carry shame, grief, or emotional wounds they hesitate to address consciously. Recording dream activity, assessing recent stressors, losses, lifestyle imbalances, and relationships can unveil issues driving the tears.
By releasing long-held pain through overnight tears, the psyche reconciles anguish that lingers in darkness. Exploring sources of hidden wounds then allows authentic healing – promoting physical, mental and spiritual wellness.
When Night Time Weeping Warrants a Doctor’s Input
For most healthy adults, occasional sleep crying rarely warrants concern and often resolves on its own. However, if any of the following apply, seek medical advice to identify and address an underlying root cause:
- Sleep crying becomes frequent (multiple times a week) or excessive (lasting over 5 minutes)
- You have difficulty breathing during tearful episodes
- Bouts awaken you fully or hinder ability to fall back asleep
- You experience intense sadness, panic, or irritability upon waking
- Daytime eye redness, pain, irritation, or vision changes accompany overnight tearing
- Using eye lubricants and stress-reduction techniques fail to curb sleep crying
- Suspect an underlying illness such as depression, anxiety, thyroid dysfunction, or sleep disorder
Keep an accurate record detailing the timing, duration, associated symptoms, and other details regarding each tearful episode. Share this documentation with your doctor or a sleep specialist to streamline diagnosis and treatment of any underlying condition provoking distressed nighttime weeping.
While mystifying when first encountered, sleep crying generally proves benign. The reasons for nighttime tears often appear simple in hindsight despite seeming bizarre when half-asleep.
When not signaling adversity, sleep crying represents a touching reminder that our innermost worlds remain intricate, surprising, and at times sorrowful – even as we rest. Tears cleanse and release that which lingers below the surface, allowing both body and spirit to process life’s hurts.
Pay attention to any consistent sleep disturbance or daytime distress associated with night weeping. Otherwise allow your soul’s expressions to flow freely beneath the moon’s glow. Where words fall short, tears speak volumes – conveying that which we struggle to name while caught in waking life’s demands.
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