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Searching Google for sleep results in the following definition, among others:

2. a gummy or gritty secretion found in the corners of the eyes after sleep. "she sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes"

I always thought that a phrase like "rubbing the sleep from her eyes" is meant to be more poetic/figurative than literal - that is, someone is rubbing her eyes in order to wake up, thus figuratively/metaphorically removing all remnants of the sleepy state from her eyes. It is surprising to me to see the noun "sleep" interpreted as to refer to a literal substance, a secretion of the eyes.

So who's right here, me or Google? :) Does "sleep" here refer to an actual physical substance?

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    I can tell you I've definitely heard it used to refer to the substance that builds up in the corner of the eye, esp. near the nose. Aside from my personal voucher, the Huffington Post article Why Do We Get 'Sleep' In Our Eyes? by Amanda L. Chan demonstrates it. What I can't say is whether it is an exclusive meaning of the phrase or an equivocal one. I suspect it's equivocal since many images of people rubbing the sleep out of their eyes aren't particularly effective methods of removing it.
    – Tonepoet
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 5:32
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    I've always interpreted it as you interpret it. You get an image of people rubbing their eyes right after they wake in order to wake themselves up more fully. I've never referred to the crumbs often found in the corners of one's eyes after sleeping as "sleep." If it said "sand," then I could get on board as that's what the sandman leaves. Incidentally, unless it has some slimy, gooberesque quality, I'm not calling it an "eye booger" either.
    – Benjamin Harman
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 5:40
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    That is a standard definition of 'sleep' in American Heritage, Collins and OED, presumably among others. Without more context, whether the word is used figuratively in "rubbing the sleep etc." can't be determined; sometimes the use is figurative and sometimes not.
    – JEL
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 6:03
  • I doubt I have ever come across it in a non-literal sense. It can be kind of clichéd though if it is thought of in a perfunctory manner: She woke up, rubbed the sleep from her eyes, and hopped out of bed.
    – GoDucks
    Commented Jan 14, 2016 at 6:20

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Apparently, yes! Sleep is the less "yucky" term for Eye Mucus or Eye Discharge.

enter image description here

An excerpt

Eye discharge, or "sleep" in your eyes, is a combination of mucus, oil, skin cells and other debris that accumulates in the corner of your eye while you sleep. It can be wet and sticky or dry and crusty, depending on how much of the liquid in the discharge has evaporated.

Other slang terms used to describe eye discharge include eye boogers, eye mattering, eye gunk and eye pus.

Sometimes called rheum, eye discharge has a protective function, removing waste products and potentially harmful debris from the tear film and the front surface of your eyes.

See this link for more information

http://www.allaboutvision.com/conditions/eye-discharge.htm

Without context, it could either be perceived metaphorically or literally!

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