Can you use eye drops before bed?

Yes. Quell’s label says Apply 1 drop 3 times per day in each eye, and it doesn’t say when in the day those three drops go, so bedtime can be one of them. Many people space the drops through the day, with the last one just before sleep. The label doesn’t give separate instructions for use while you sleep, so for anything beyond that, ask your eye doctor.

Making bedtime one of your three drops

Three times a day breaks naturally into morning, midday and evening. Moving the evening drop to the moment you turn out the light changes nothing about the dose. It just ties it to a habit you already have, which makes it hard to forget.

• Morning: after you’re up and have washed your face.
• Midday: at lunch, or at the halfway point of a work shift.
• Bedtime: after brushing your teeth, as the last thing before lights out.

If you work nights, the same pattern applies to your own day. “Before bed” is whenever you go to sleep, whether that’s 10 p.m. or 9 a.m.

Spacing the drops through the day

Bunching all three drops close together leaves long gaps with nothing in between. Spreading them out means each one meets a different part of the day: the morning commute, afternoon screen time, the heated house in the evening. Roughly even gaps across your waking hours is a sensible way to read “3 times per day,” though the label doesn’t specify hours.

Why a bedtime drop appeals to people

The hours before sleep are often when eyes feel driest. You’ve had a full day of screens, the heat or air conditioning has been running, and evening reading or phone time keeps blink rates down. A drop at that point fits the label and matches when people tend to notice dryness most.

Bedroom air plays a part, too. A dry bedroom with the furnace on or a space heater running can make eyes feel worse by morning; does a humidifier help dry eyes? covers the humidity side, and dry eyes from a CPAP mask covers air leaks for people on CPAP.

How to put a drop in at bedtime

• Wash your hands. Bedtime routines can be rushed, but clean hands matter more than speed.
• Check the bottle: Product appears as a milky brown solution. The label’s Do not use line reads: If this product changes color.
• Tilt your head back, or lie back on the bed, and look up.
• Gently pull down your lower lid to make a small pocket.
• Squeeze one drop into the pocket, without the tip touching your eye, lashes or fingers. The label says: Do not touch tip of bottle to any surface to avoid contamination.
• Close your eyes gently for a moment, then repeat in the other eye.
• Cap the bottle right away and put it back in its usual place.

What the label doesn’t cover about nighttime

Quell’s label gives one set of directions and no separate guidance about sleep, eye masks or night-time products. If you use another eye product at night, such as a prescription drop, the label doesn’t cover combining them; ask your eye doctor or pharmacist about the order and spacing. The same goes for contact lenses: the label doesn’t give directions for using Quell with lenses, so ask your eye doctor how drops and lenses fit together for you.

If you wake up with eyes that feel dry or uncomfortable night after night, mention that pattern to your eye doctor. It’s useful information on its own.

Where to keep the bottle by the bed

A nightstand drawer works well, as long as the room stays in the label’s range: Store between 15° to 30°C (59° to 86°F). Keep it away from a radiator, a space heater or a sunny window, and out of reach of children; the label adds, If swallowed, get medical help or contact a Poison Control Center immediately. If you’d rather keep it next to your toothbrush, think about the bathroom itself: a hot shower can leave the room warm and steamy, and a medicine cabinet above a sink stays cooler than a shelf beside the shower. Either way, close the cap fully before you put it down.

When to stop

A bedtime drop is still subject to the same limits as any other. The label says: Stop use and ask a doctor if you feel eye pain or changes in your vision, if irritation or redness continues, or if the condition worsens or persists for 72 hours. The full panel is on the Drug Facts page.