Why is it that when you squint your eyes you can see clearer?

Question

some of you said i need glasses... i know :D

i have some and contacts but i just took then out awhile ago and i just couldnt see anything! (overly dramatic obviously)

but everything was blurry and so im like... i should ask this question!

haha

thanx for your help ppl! :)

Answer 1

It's the pinhole camera effect.

If your eyelids are held narrower than your pupil size, teh effective aperture to the eye is reduced.

Try a 1mm hole in a piece of paper, held near the eye , to see the effect at its best.

But it only works if the eye is out of focus to begin with so if you notice a definite improvement with squinying or a pinhole, it is likely you have a significant refractive error.

The pinhole principle works by only allowing the straightest light rays to enter the eye, reducing blur irrespective of the focus error.  It draws nicely on a diagram, but is more tricky to describe in words.

Answer 2

I think it has to do with your astigmatism of your eyes. I used to work for some ophthalmologists in college and they explained astigmatism like this - a lens in a "normal" eye is shaped like a basketball but those (like myself) who have astigmatism have an lens shaped more like a football which causes shapes to be distorted.

For some reason, people who have astigmatism see better when they squint (must have something to do with the concentrated focus of the lens when squinting). You should probably see an eye doctor for a vision test to see if you need glasses.

If your vision is otherwise good, sometimes people who are fatigued can get blurry eyes and squinting can help focus your eyes.

Answer 3

i think you may need glasses hon, thats the only way squinting your eyes could make you see clearer

Answer 4

because it takes a lot of the peripheral interference out so you're looking at a smaller spectrum; therefore focusing on a smaller spectrum. it's like watching normal t.v. and when you squint it's on hi-def because you are focusing on a smaller portion

Answer 5

I don't think it makes you see clearer...i just think it makes the object your trying to stare at easier to focus on or something.

no ideaa. good question! haha.

Answer 6

The same reason why, if you poke a little hole in a piece of paper and look through it, everything is clearer. It makes it easier for your eyes to focus on something.

Answer 7

This doesn't apply to everyone only those who need glasses.  I'm not being sarcastic either you should be able to see as clear as when you squint.

IT flexes a muscle.

Answer 8

you need glasses

Answer 9

because your like an asian, and they are always smart

Answer 10

It doesn't really work for me. My problem is so bad that the only way it can be improved at all is with glasses or contacts.

Answer 11

Your eyeballs are like cameras.  When you squint it decreases the aperture, the opening through which light is admitted, which increases the depth of field, the gradual decrease in sharpness on either side of the focused distance.

Answer 12

I don't think that works for me. Doesn't seem to help.

Answer 13

i thin kits because

then the ight doesnt bother you

maybe

Answer 14

cause it lets in less light. Less light lets your eyes focus on things more accurately

A long time ago glasses were made of metal, cause there was a tiny hole in the metal that youd look out of...

just a little trivia for ya

Answer 15

When you squint something inside your eye stretches and focuses thus making you see clearer. But it is best that you get glasses so u dont have to squint:D

Answer 16

When light travels through a lense that bends light it is bent the most at the edges. It is bent the least toward the middle. There is one tiny ray of light that is unchanged and travels straight. If you have a refractive error in your eye, means that this the light being bent by your conrnea and your inner lense does not meet your retina correctly. The ones in the middle are actually more correct than the ones in the periphery. When you squint your eyes you are shutting out the light that is being deviated the most and your brain can use the light rays that are deviated the least to see with. It can be du;licated with the pinhole effect as well. It does not work for all people. But for some it is interrestingly effective.