Why are my eyes bloodshot when I wake up?

Whenever I wake up from a night of sleep or a short nap, my eyes are bloodshot. Why is this and what can I do?

Our eyes stop making tears—not “crying” type of tears, but lubricating type of tears—during sleep, so someone with dry eye syndrome (low tear levels) or blepharitis (clogged oil glands in the eyelids) may have dryness when awakening. One of the signs of dry eyes is redness. Additional causes can include the eyelids not completing closing during sleep, a problem that also promotes dryness of the eye and inflammation that ultimately leads to redness of the eye. Your ophthalmologist can get you started on topical therapies to help with the surface of the eye. A number of treatments can help with this problem.