# Why do eyeballs hurt when tired? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 13, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970 "2010-10-13T07:01:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/1 "2010-10-13T07:01:04Z")
What is physically different about my eyeballs at 10 pm (feel fine) than at 11:30 pm (tired) or 10 am (rested)? ---
**Author:** ![NineToTheSky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/b5a626/32.png) [@NineToTheSky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NineToTheSky)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/2 "2010-10-13T10:36:10Z")
I know nothing - but is it actually your eyeballs that hurt? Isn’t it the muscles, tissue etc around them? ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 11:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/3 "2010-10-13T11:22:15Z")
> [@NineToTheSky](#): > > I know nothing - but is it actually your eyeballs that hurt? Isn’t it the muscles, tissue etc around them? There’s also a muscle inside the eye that bends the lens in order to focus. Perhaps it’s this muscle that gets tired. ---
**Author:** ![Bearflag70](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/8e7dd6/32.png) [@Bearflag70](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bearflag70)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/4 "2010-10-13T17:36:58Z")
When I’m tired and sleepy around bedtime, they feel generally sore, like a burning sensation, and light sensitive. An hour earlier, they feel fine. They feel fine all day. It’s like my eyes are telling me, “Let’s go to bed, dude.” I don’t know that its a lens muscle. It feels like the whites of my eyes are irritated. ---
**Author:** ![EmAnJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/d2c977/32.png) [@EmAnJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EmAnJ)\ **Post date:** [October 13, 2010, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/5 "2010-10-13T17:49:57Z")
I get the same feeling, especially on days where I’ve not gotten enough sleep. It’s like they’re dried out or something, but they also burn a bit. I usually forgo contacts on those days and stick to glasses, as contacts seem to make the problem worse. ---
**Author:** ![Askance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/askance/32/8281_2.png) [@Askance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Askance)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 3:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/6 "2010-10-14T03:53:59Z")
I too have often wondered why tiredness causes physical pain around the eyes, I’ll be interested in any knowledgeable answers that appear here. For me it feels to be behind my eyes, so not near the lens accommodator muscle at all. ---
**Author:** ![Savannah](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b3f665/32.png) [@Savannah](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Savannah)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/7 "2010-10-14T04:08:39Z")
It’s not just you; I get the same thing when I’m tired or sick (or, alas, had a few too many cocktails the night before). ---
**Author:** ![aruvqan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aruvqan/32/2891_2.png) [@aruvqan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aruvqan)\ **Post date:** [October 14, 2010, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/8 "2010-10-14T09:55:35Z")
achy muscles, check. scratchy eyeballs, check, blurry vision, check … I know why I get scratchy eyeballs, I seem to have an eye snot problem. I assume the little crusties are breaking loose from my eyelashes and dropping into the eye. ---
**Author:** ![standingwave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9de0a6/32.png) [@standingwave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/standingwave)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 12:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/9 "2010-10-15T00:01:01Z")
Found [this](http://www.healthexpertadvice.org/forum/Optical/Staring-at-computer-screens-too-much-is-making-my-eyes-really-tired-and-stressed-203688.htm): > [@](#): > > […] another very common problem is a condition called computer fatigue syndrome. When you focus on a computer for prolonged periods of time you are stimulating the ciliary muscle (focusing muscle) inside the eye constantly which can lead to fatigue. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [October 15, 2010, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-eyeballs-hurt-when-tired/556970/10 "2010-10-15T01:03:03Z")
My eyes actually tear up as I get tired.