How fast do people blink

Intense concentration tends to reduce the blink rate, and if you're in a situation that implies some danger, your blinking rate can go way down -- presumably to help you look around quickly without missing things.

A really interesting thing that's not well understood, but very easy to notice once you know to look for it, is that when you change from looking at something to thinking about it, you tend to blink -- a sort of signal that you're changing mental gears. E-mail questions to drknowledge globe. Traffic Weather Mobile. How to Make Saline Solution? Your Brain On: A Concussion. Nexium Vs.

Optical Illusions Science Projects. What Effects do Chlorofluorocarbons Have on Humans? Your Body On: The Flu. Girly Science Fair Projects for Kids. Facts About the Spleen. What is Saline Solution? Why Do Horseflies Bite People? A lot. Although some of this blinking has a clear purpose—mostly to lubricate the eyeballs, and occasionally protect them from dust or other debris—scientists say that we blink far more often than necessary for these functions alone.

Thus, blinking is physiological riddle. Why do we do it so darn often? In a paper published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, a group of scientists from Japan offers up a surprising new answer—that briefly closing our eyes might actually help us to gather our thoughts and focus attention on the world around us.

Aside from protecting your eye and keeping things dark while you sleep, they contain several glands that secrete the components of your tears when you blink. There is also a slight horizontal movement of the eyelid that pushes debris toward the puncta tear ducts , small openings in the corners of the eyes through which tears drain.

Tears then flush the debris. While these reasons for blinking are well-established, research also suggests that you may blink for your brain. Scientists speculate that blinks are a way to get a brief mental rest without visual stimuli. One study found that the precise moments we blink may not be random.

We may blink at very predictable times, in fact. For example, when reading, most people blink at the end of a sentence. When people listen to a speech, they tend to blink when the speaker pauses between statements.

And when people watch a video, they tend to blink when the action on the video lags for a moment. Researchers also found that when people blinked, mental activity spiked in certain areas of the brain that function when the mind is in a state of wakeful rest.

They felt that activation of this part of the brain serves as a short mental break that allows for better attention when the eyes open again. Additional research is needed. Sign up for our Health Tip of the Day newsletter, and receive daily tips that will help you live your healthiest life.