15 Things That Will Surprise You About the Human Eye

The eyes are one of the first things you notice about a person. They often communicate information before words are spoken or other nonverbal cues are registered. According to Daily Mail, Swedish scientists discovered that “patterns in the iris can give an indication of whether we are warm and trusting or neurotic and impulsive.”

The human eye is an amazing organ and sight is something nobody should take for granted. For those reasons, it’s important to protect your eyes. Dr. Oliver Yeh, Cataract and Glaucoma Specialist at Intermountain Health’s Salt Lake Clinic, said, “We’ve all heard that the eye is the window to the soul, but it is also a window to our health.”

In fact, doctors can now help diagnose other bodily diseases by examining the eyes. “Because the eye is the only place in the human body where neural tissue and blood vessels can directly be seen, an eye exam can uncover diabetes, high blood pressure, infections, and even autoimmune disease. Additionally, getting your eyes checked regularly will help detect glaucoma and macular degeneration that could cause vision loss,” said Yeh.

Related: 7 Vital Ways to Keep Your Eyes Healthy

Here are 15 eye-opening facts:

• The average blink is 1/10 of a second
• The eyes are the second most complex part of your body—only surpassed in complexity by the brain
• Only 1/6th of the eye is exposed to the human world
• A fingerprint contains 40 unique traits, and eyes contain 256, hence the reason retina security scans are more secure
• The length of the eye determines how good your vision is
• When it comes to sight, 50% or more of your brain gets involved
• Newborns have audible cries but no tears to go along with them until about four months old
• Eye scratches heal quickly—usually within 48 hours unless infection occurs
• Humans are blind for about 40 minutes per day because of Saccadic masking—the body’s way of reducing motion blur as objects and eyes move
• 20/20 isn’t perfect vision, it’s actually normal vision—it means you can see what an average person sees from 20 feet
• Eyes manage 80 percent of all information you will ever take in
• An average person blinks 5.2 million times per year (17 times per minute, 14,280 times in 14 hours, 5.2M times per year)
• Diabetes can be detected through eye exams
• An eye has more than 2,000,000 working parts
• If one of your eyes were a digital camera, it’d have 576 megapixels

Taking care of your eyes is essential, whether that’s getting an annual eye exam or wearing shades to avoid harsh UV light—do what it takes to keep your eyes healthy.

Related: 13 Things People With Glasses Can Relate To

References:
Discoveryeye.org
Eyeinstitute.co
Clarkvision.com