Sleeping with eyes open??

[Emappo]

I have a few questions about my eyes being open while I am asleep. A while ago, I was looking through albums, and I happened to find a picture of me sleeping with my eyes half open as a toddler. I thought this was a funny, but then I began to find many pictures of me sleeping with my eyes open when I was much much older, and it wasn't funny anymore. As shown in the picture below, only a small sliver of the white of my eye is exposed. This only appears to be on one eye and the other eye is closed. Even if only a small portion of the eye is exposed, does this indicate incomplete eye closure? Or is it just that I was in a very deep sleep? I have had no pain in my eye upon awakening, except I do have puffy eyes most mornings, and my eyes feel dry during the day. Does this mean that I still sleep with my eyes open? Also if this is a condition, could it possibly get worse and cause problems, and what should I do to prevent this? Thanks so much for your help!!

Here is the Direct URL for the picture of my eye taken while I was sleeping.
http://i1383.photobucket.com/albums/ah289/emappo/IMG_4825_zpsxkaslf1r.png

[Irishbred]

GLAD SHE GOT THE PROPER INFORMATION NOW.

[Emappo]

Thank you so much! I'll do some research!

[Emappo]

Thank you so much! I'll do some research!

[achillea]

Sleeping with eyes open can (rarely) be caused by *hyper*thyroidism, which is overactivity of the thyroid gland.  This can cause eyes that bulge enough to make it difficult for the lids to close over them.

However, this condition is *also* evident when the patient is awake.

Hypothyroidism (underactivity of the gland) does not cause the eyes to bulge; the lids get get kind of puffy-looking.

Googling 'difference hyperthyroidism & hypothryoidism' will provide illustrations of the two conditions.

[Irishbred]

WOW, WHAT A COINCIDENCE- I CAME ON THIS FORUM. I WAS READING ABOUT CATARACT SURGERY. DR. WAS ASKING THE GAL HE WAS DOING CATARACTS ON --"YOU SLEEP WITH YOUR EYES OPEN"...YES, SHE REPLIED. HE TOLD HER THAT'S A SIGN OF
HYPOTHYROIDISM..WISH I COULD RECALL DRS. NAME. IF I DO FIND IT...I'LL RETURN TO THIS SITE SO YOU CAN SEE FOR YOURSELF.

[achillea]

Sleeping with eyes partially open isn't exactly rare.  Sometimes people are born with the tendency, sometimes it's the result of some kind of injury or disease, and most of the time, the cause really isn't known.  In fact, people who do it usually don't even realize it (after all, you're asleep, right?) until either they see a photo of themselves or their bed partner tells them about it.
I didn't know I slept with my eyes open until my husband told me.

Anyhow, you can google something like 'sleeping with eyes open' for a lot more info.  You should mention it to your doc, who will check you out for anything bad, but the chances are that she will tell you to use an ointment like Lacrilube at night to keep your eyes from drying out.  

If your eyes get really irritated, there are other things that can be done.