The average person blinks around 15-20 times per minute – so frequently that our eyes are closed for roughly 10% of our walking hours overall. Although blinking has a clear purpose – mostly to lubricate the eyeballs, and occasionally protect them from dust or other debris, scientists say that we subconsciously use blinks as a sort of mental resting point, to briefly shut off visual stimuli and allow us to focus our attention.
Scientists have found that the human brain has a talent for ignoring the momentary blackout. The very act of blinking suppresses activity in several areas of the brain responsible for detecting environmental changes, so that you experience the world as continuous.
The researchers came to the hypothesis after noting an interesting fact revealed by previous research on blinking: that the exact moments when we blink aren’t actually random. Although seemingly spontaneous, studies have revealed that people tend to blink at predictable moments. For someone reading, blinking often occurs after each sentence is finished, while for a person listening to a speech, it frequently comes when the speaker pauses between statements. A group of people all watching the same video tend to blink around the same time, too, when action briefly lags.
Picture Credit : Google