10 amazing facts about the eyes
10 amazing facts about the eyes
Your eyes are a wonderful and sophisticated power, and your vision is something you should never take for granted. Often known as the “windows to the soul”, this emotive saying suggests that by looking into one's eyes your thoughts, feelings and desires are explicitly exposed. If you are lying, you may be asked to look your opponent “in the eye,” as they tend to give away clues on your deepest and darkest secrets.
Looking after your eye health is therefore critical. We always stress that even if you do not experience any issues with your eyesight, regular tests are important as other health problems can be identified.
What else do we not know about the second most-complex organ in our body (only our brains are more complicated)? Keep your eyes peeled, and read on below for these interesting and fun facts.
- Only one-sixth of your eyeball is visible, and it is heavily protected by your eyebrows and eyelashes.
- Eyebrows prevent sweat from reaching the eyes, and eyelashes keep out the dirt. Eyelashes have a lifespan of around five months and sheds like our other hair. It is thought that the human body sheds 98 feet of eyelash hair over a person's lifetime.
- We all have a blind spot - this is perfectly natural due to the structure of the eye, and it does not affect our vision because our brain fills in the blanks.
- The eyeball weighs 28 grams - that's the equivalent of one slice of bread, a pencil or 28 large paper clips.
- We read 25% slower on a screen than on paper. If there was ever a time to ditch the Kindle and reach for a beloved hard-back, it is now.
- The eye can detect 10 million colours.
- ‘In the blink of an eye’, stems from the eye being the fastest muscle in the body. We also blink 10,000 times a day - that’s 12 times a minute.
- There’s a reason behind those monochrome gifts when you’ve just had a new baby. All babies are born colour-blind, and don’t produce tears until they are six weeks old.
- Do you remember before we had iPhones and ‘red eye’ was a known culprit for ruining a family photo? That’s because the retina is full of blood vessels.
- It is impossible to sneeze with your eyes open.
We will soon be heading into September where we will be marking National Eye Health Week. Highlighting the importance of regular eyesight tests, please contact your local practice if you are experiencing any vision loss, and want to discuss it with one of our optometrists.