What is it that makes us blink? Why can't we stop ourselves from it?

Question

What is it that makes us blink? Why can't we stop ourselves from it?

Answer 1

Blinking is an automatic reflex action that allows us to keep our eyes moisturized and free of dust particles.

Answer 2

the air or other disturbing things that come in contact with our eyes makes you blink so your eye gets rid of the things that come into our eye.

Answer 3

Well I think there is no other word for that but reaction :J

Answer 4

People blink because if we didnt, one: our eyes would dry up pretty quickly. Two: because by blinking we keep dirt, debris, and other stuff out. Blinking is an involuntary reactiong to certain things. (stuff getting in your eyes, the wind, shock, crying, etc.)

Answer 5

Why would you want to styop .. keeps our eyeballs lubricated     Would be sore eyes  if we didn't blink.

Answer 6

nerves in our eyes?

Answer 7

You blink to keep your eyes moisturized and keep dust and debris out.  If you didn't blink your eyes would dry up and be filled with dirt.

Answer 8

we blink to add a new coat of liquid to our eye balls so they dont dry out. we blink when our eyes start to get dry, it's just an automatic thing that happens. probably nerves.

Answer 9

The average human blinks in the region of 25 times per minute. Most of the time we do not even realise that we are actually blinking, it is such an automatic action.

We blink primarily for two reasons. The first is to keep the eye lubricated and to ensure that the surface of the eye is clean. Blinking also helps us to protect the eye against any object which may suddenly come towards it.

However, we also blink as a way of communicating. Rapid blinking among primates, namely monkeys, apes and humans is said to be a means of communicating stress. So the more stressed and anxious we are, the more we blink !

This may be linked to why women 'flutter their eyelashes' , an elaborate form of blinking. When women do this they are, perhaps even subconsciously, conveying the message that they are stressed and need to be rescued by a strong, protective male

Answer 10

Staring at something for to long

Answer 11

if you close your eyes you wilol not blink

Answer 12

It's our body's way to lubricate dry eyes.

Answer 13

if you didnt blink your eye would be all dried out. eyelashes help us to keep dust dirt etc. out of our eyes.

Answer 14

We can stop ouselves from it, but it is very uncomfortable, at some point your eyes produce extra tears to keep your eyes moisturized but its still never that relaxing

Answer 15

You have to blink to keep the eyes moist.  It is an involuntary action controlled by the brain (like breathing).

You can stop yourself from doing it temporarily, but you will find that your eyes will start to burn from the dryness, and when you stop actively thinkinag about it you will start blinking again involuntarily.

Answer 16

blinking is an essential function that spreads tears over the eyes and removes irritants from the surface. why would you not want to blink?

Answer 17

Blinking, as opposed to batting, our eyes automatically supplies two forms of moisture to our eyes, to keep them from drying out, and to keep foreign matter from entering and irritating our eyes. Eyelids themselves, our built-in "wind-shield wipers," are merely folds of skin, controlled by muscles capable of expanding and contracting so rapidly, that blinking does not impair our vision. Mother Nature lined the rims of our eyelids with 20-30 sebaceous, oil-producing glands, which are located between our eyelashes, and are invisible to the naked eye. Blinking automatically coats the eyelid and eyelashes with the lubricant it secretes, to prevent them from drying out.

Blinking also protects the eye from dryness by irrigating, not by irritating, the eye, The eyelid, through suction, automatically draws the fluid we cry with from the well we refer to as the tear duct over the eyeball, to irrigate, and to moisturize the eye. The process is similar to the manner in which the farmer uses water to irrigate his crops during a dry spell.

Yet another benefit of blinking, is to shield the eye from foreign bodies. Our eyelashes, short, curved, hairs, attached to the eyelids, serve as dust-catchers, as the blinking reflex causes them automatically to lower, when exposed to harsh elements. Nature endowed the camel with extraordinarily long, curly, eyelashes, to protect his eyes from sudden sandstorms in the desert. Incidentally, the "camel eyelash" look is one many women attempt to duplicate by using an eyelash curler! Eyebrows, by the way, also serve their purpose, as they catch the run-off perspiration produces.