Biology Question #8635
green hornet, a 12 year old male from the Internet asks on November 9, 2011,
how many second the people before blink again
viewed 8013 times
The answer
Sarah Chow
answered on December 9, 2011
Eyes need to be lubricated--as well as many other body parts that you are much too young to learn about. To keep eyes from drying out, the eyes secrete tears. That's why you blink, to spread around the lubricant.
How often you blink depends on how old you are. Infants blink less but the reason is unknown. It may be because they sleep more, don't produce tears in their first month of life, or they just have smaller eye openings. Adults on the other hand blink ten times a minute or blink every two to ten seconds with the average duration of a blink is 300 - 400 milliseconds. But that really depends. If you're focussed on staring at, lets say, a pretty girl across your classroom, you'll blink less often, like you're in a trance. I often do that now, but with handsome boys, and daydream about our future together. Or sometimes I bat my eyes at them. Actually the muscles in your eyes that make you blink are the fastest muscles in your body. They allow you to blink 5 times a second. Go ahead, try it.
However, excessive blinking can be a symptom of a disorder in the nervous system, Tourette syndrome, or a stroke. But reduced blinking can mean Parkinson's Disease.
So I guess the real question is how do you beat your friend at a staring contest? It's all about focus.
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