US EditionPeople with a Common Health Condition Told Not to Sleep with a Pillow
- On January 27, 2026, a study in the British Journal of Ophthalmology reported stacking two pillows was linked to higher intraocular pressure in 144 adults with glaucoma.
- Because wedge pillows aren't always practical, researchers tested stacked-pillow practice, hypothesising neck angulation may compress the jugular vein and impair ocular fluid drainage, including a subgroup ultrasound analysis.
- Objective readings showed 67% of participants had a mean IOP increase of 1.61 mm Hg, with ocular perfusion pressure dropping to 54.57 mm Hg, and jugular ultrasound revealed lumen constriction.
- Researchers advised people with glaucoma to avoid sleep postures causing jugular venous compression but cautioned that long-term interventional studies are needed and current guidance to elevate the head remains unconfirmed.
- In the context of current glaucoma management, experts project cases could rise to 1.6 million by 2060, highlighting positional modification as a promising adjunct to medical and laser therapies.
12 Articles
12 Articles
Sleeping without pillows may help reduce nighttime eye pressure in glaucoma
Sleeping without pillows may help lower high internal eye pressure, build-up of which causes optic nerve damage and glaucoma-the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide–in people with the condition, suggests preliminary research, published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
The Independent
The Independent (US)How your pillow could be affecting your eye health
Sleeping without pillows may lower harmful high internal eye pressure in people with glaucoma
Sleeping without pillows may help lower high internal eye pressure, the build-up of which causes optic nerve damage and glaucoma—the leading cause of irreversible blindness worldwide—in people with the condition, suggests preliminary research, published online in the British Journal of Ophthalmology.
MedPage Today
Anti-Aging, Acupuncture and Health NewsSleeping With Two Pillows May Raise Internal Eye Pressure in Glaucoma
(MedPage Today) -- In a challenge to conventional thinking, a study hints that sleeping with the head elevated may actually increase intraocular pressure (IOP) in patients with glaucoma rather than lower it. The 144 glaucoma patients in the study...
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