Overnight Contact Lenses

Overnight contacts are approved for extended wear while you sleep. They are made from high-oxygen materials to keep your eyes healthy during continuous wear.

The cornea relies on oxygen from tears and directly from the atmosphere to stay healthy, and standard contact lenses already reduce the oxygen supply to some degree. Sleeping in regular contacts reduces it further, increasing the risk of hypoxia, eye infections, and other complications. Overnight contact lenses are made from silicone hydrogel materials, which are thinner than standard hydrogel and allow up to five times more oxygen to reach the cornea, making them suitable for extended and continuous wear.

Most overnight lenses are approved for up to six nights and seven days of continuous wear, with some approved for up to 30 nights. These are the maximum recommended schedules and not everyone can tolerate the full period, so your eye care professional determines the appropriate schedule for your eyes. Overnight lenses are particularly beneficial for wearers who need clear vision at all times or cannot reliably follow a nightly removal routine.

Wearers who benefit most from overnight contact lenses:

• People with busy or unpredictable schedules
• Military personnel and emergency workers
• Outdoor enthusiasts and highly active wearers
• Shift workers who cannot remove lenses on a consistent schedule
• Wearers with high refractive errors who need continuous vision correction
• People with certain binocular vision conditions such as amblyopia

Several leading manufacturers offer overnight contact lenses for wearers who need a flexible wearing schedule. Your eye care professional can confirm which lens fits your prescription and overnight wear needs.

• Air Optix Night & Day Aqua by Alcon - approved for up to 30 nights of continuous wear, allows more oxygen permeation than any other soft contact lens
• PureVision by Bausch & Lomb - silicone hydrogel overnight lens for nearsightedness and farsightedness, also available in toric and multifocal versions
• Acuvue 2 by Johnson & Johnson - biweekly hydrogel lens approved for extended wear for nearsighted and farsighted prescriptions
• Air Optix Aqua by Alcon - monthly silicone hydrogel lens approved for up to 6 nights of continuous wear
• Acuvue Oasys with HydraLuxe Technology by Johnson & Johnson - biweekly silicone hydrogel lens approved for extended wear
• ULTRA by Bausch & Lomb - monthly silicone hydrogel lens with MoistureSeal Technology approved for extended wear

Overnight contact lenses typically cost between $30 and $50 per box of six lenses. Many wearers purchase up to three boxes per eye annually since they may replace lenses more frequently than every 30 days, bringing the typical annual cost to between $300 and $500. Purchasing through online retailers like Lens.com can reduce that cost significantly compared to brick-and-mortar stores, and all lenses sold are from the same trusted brands available through your eye care professional.

Note: Prices are subject to change and may vary based on prescription type, lens quantity, and current promotions. Check the Rebate Center at Lens.com for current offers before ordering.

Overnight contact lenses are soft disposable lenses and follow the standard insertion and removal process. Always wash and dry your hands before handling lenses.

To insert:

• Wash hands with mild soap and dry with a lint-free towel
• Scoop the lens out of the case with the index finger of your dominant hand
• Rinse with multipurpose solution and inspect for tears or debris
• Pull down your lower eyelid with the middle finger of your dominant hand
• Place the lens on your eye while looking straight ahead and blink to center it
• Repeat with the other lens

To remove:

• Hold your eyelids open with one hand
• Gently pinch the lens between your index finger and thumb
• Carefully lift the lens off your eye and repeat with the other lens

Sleeping in contact lenses increases the risk of eye infection because bacteria can become trapped between the lens and the eye, thriving in the moist, closed environment under the eyelids while the reduced oxygen supply makes the cornea more susceptible to inflammation. Infections can range from minor conditions like pink eye to serious sight-threatening ones like Acanthamoeba keratitis.

Modern silicone hydrogel overnight lenses have reduced this risk by allowing significantly more oxygen through the lens, and most are disposable to minimize deposit buildup, but overnight wear still carries more risk than daily removal and should only be done under your eye care professional's guidance.

To reduce the risks of overnight contact lens wear:

• Remove lenses before sleeping when possible to give your eyes a chance to breathe
• Remove lenses before bathing or swimming
• Always handle lenses with clean, dry hands
• Never wear expired lenses
• Avoid smoke as even brief exposure can affect eye health
• Follow your eye care professional's recommended wear schedule and never exceed the FDA-approved maximum