Can dry eye cause insomnia?

Answer:
While dry eyes do not cause insomnia, insomnia can make dry eyes worse and dry eyes can make insomnia worse.

Many people who have overnight dryness experience irritation that can prevent them from sleeping. Patients with sleep apnea often suffer from floppy eyelid syndrome which leads to incomplete lid closure and drying out of the eyes overnight. Sometimes this can be so severe that patients experience pain or abrasions while they are sleeping.

Patients who use a CPAP machine for sleep apnea can have air leakage around the mask which can contribute to dryness. Lastly, patients with anxiety and depression commonly suffer from both dry eye syndrome and insomnia both from the condition itself as well as the treatments for the condition (for example, antidepressant medications, which can cause dry eyes and insomnia).