J Korean Ophthalmol Soc.  2011 Nov;52(11):1318-1325.

Change in Intraocular Pressure According to Sleeping Posture in Normal People

• Lee E
• Kwon JD

Abstract

PURPOSE
The present study examined how intraocular pressure is affected by changes in sleeping posture (22-2400 hours) from the sitting position to the supine, prone, and lateral positions in normal subjects.
METHODS
Ophthalmological examination was performed on 140 eyes of 70 healthy adult men, and changes in the intraocular pressure were measured according to posture during sleep. The subject was initially relaxed and the base intraocular pressure was measured in the sitting position. In order to reduce the influence of intraocular pressure among the positions, namely, the supine, the prone, and the lateral recumbent positions, the subject was seated for ten minutes before assuming each position. Intraocular pressure was measured twice at 0 and 10 minutes in each position, and the mean of the two values was used for comparison.
RESULTS
Compared to the intraocular pressure in the sitting position, intraocular pressure increased significantly in the supine, prone, and lateral positions (p< 0.05). Compared to the base intraocular pressure, the intraocular pressure measured in the prone position showed the largest difference, increasing 6.34 mm Hg in the right eye and 6.43 mm Hg in the left eye. The intraocular pressure measured in the lateral position was 3.62 mm Hg higher in the right eye and 3.63 mm Hg higher in the left eye, and that in the supine position was 2.42 mm Hg and 2.28 mm Hg higher in the right and left eyes, respectively.
CONCLUSIONS
The change in posture during sleeping from the sitting position to the supine, prone, and lateral positions caused increases in intraocular pressure in normal subjects. The results show that the change in sleeping posture induced by sleeping habits may raise intraocular pressure.

Keyword

Glaucoma; Intraocular pressure; Normal people; Positional change; Sleeping posture

MeSH Terms

Adult
Eye
Glaucoma
Humans
Intraocular Pressure
Male
Posture
Prone Position
Supine Position

Figure

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  Figure 1. In order to measure intraocular pressure, we used a specially designed bed. The bed was designed so that the intraocular pressure can be measured while the subject maintains the prone position or the lateral position.

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  Figure 2. Intraocular pressure was measured by a tester using a Perkins' handheld tonometer HA-2 (KOWA, Japan) in the sitting position (A), supine position (B), prone position (C), and lateral position (D) on a specially designed bed.

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  Figure 3. Linear graphs comparing intraocular pressure after 10 minutes in the sitting position, supine position, prone position, and lateral position.

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  Figure 4. Linear graphs comparing intraocular pressure just after the change of posture to the sitting position, supine position, and prone position at 0 and 10 minutes.

Reference

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