# Sleepy Eyes **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [August 12, 2002, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-eyes/123461 "2002-08-12T01:32:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bensonGemini](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/eb9ed0/32.png) [@bensonGemini](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bensonGemini)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-eyes/123461/1 "2002-08-12T01:32:26Z")
Why are our eyes sometimes somewhat swollen when we wake up in the morning? ---
**Author:** ![Reeder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c6cbf5/32.png) [@Reeder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Reeder)\ **Post date:** [August 12, 2002, 1:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/sleepy-eyes/123461/2 "2002-08-12T01:40:08Z")
> [@](#): > > Q: Why does the area around the eyes become puffy after a night’s sleep? > A: There are a few possibilities. First is your sleeping position; sleeping flat doesn?t allow body fluids and blood to be affected by the pull of gravity. The fix: Elevate your head with a few pillows. Second, your diet may be high in salt, which will cause your body to retain water especially around the eyes, where fluid accumulation is obvious due to the thinness of the skin. Finally, there is the consumption of alcohol, which, by causing blood vessels to dilate and ?leak? higher-than-normal amounts of fluid into tissues, can create the distention of the very permeable tissue around the eyes. [http://www.myskinsource.com/ExpertPages/sleep\_bank.html#Sleep-puffy](http://www.myskinsource.com/ExpertPages/sleep_bank.html#Sleep-puffy)