6 interesting facts about blinking not everyone knows

We blink about 10 to 15 times per minute and spend about 10% of our waking hours doing it. The act of blinking only happens in a split second, but it has a great impact on everyone's health.

1. Blink to let the brain rest

Blinking acts to clean, moisturize, prevent infection, nourish healthy eyeballs to protect our eyesight. Not only that, it turns out that the blink of the eye and the brain are closely linked. 

It can be said that blinking (in general) is like a pause for the brain, a break to regain sanity in the midst of chaotic thoughts. Our brains take advantage of these brief seconds to 'roam' and 'go offline'. 

2. Blink 'group sync'

Our eyes will blink less when doing tasks that require visual attention, like when working with computers. We will also synchronize blinking when talking face to face with other people, especially when talking about topics of interest to us. 

When a group of people watch a movie together, they synchronize their blink time with the content being shown, resulting in synchronization of the whole group of people. 

We tend to blink when an action scene ends or focus our eyes more when we see an emotional scene. It was this reactionary tendency that created the group blink synchronicity.

3. We usually blink less when in love

We tend to synchronize our blinking to our preferences. When you're dating someone, you tend to maintain eye contact with them, which makes the feelings more intense. 

When you stare into someone's eyes (especially at someone you're attracted to and aren't in an awkward situation) the body releases hormones (phenethylamine and oxytocin) associated with passion and affection. . Eye contact synchronizes blinking and brain activity, revealing two people's true attachment to a 'single connected system'.

4. Blinking can be a sign of deception

Lying is a stressful activity so liars tend to blink more. Because the brain is busy processing false information, the eyes will blink automatically. However, it has also been suggested that liars consciously blink less than the average person. Liars even try to look the other person in the eye to make it easier to convince them. In this case, blinking occurs 8 times less than usual. But much of the research supports the hypothesis that an increased blink rate is a nonverbal sign of deception.

5. Blinking on one side can be misleading

One-sided blinking, also known as winking, is commonly thought of as a flirtation signal and can induce a hormonal response of euphoria. When attracted to someone, just making eye contact is enough for two people to exchange many secret messages. Blinking is also a common expression when someone plays pranks, a taunt, a signal in sports, a sign of vulgarity… It's best to be careful not to blink indiscriminately when approaching. visit a culture you don't understand well.

6. We can train ourselves to blink

You will have a true blink when the eyelid is completely closed. This simple action brings a lot of benefits such as reducing the chance of infection, limiting redness, making vision clearer. 

Practice the following 1-minute exercise to keep your eyes healthy: Look in each direction (up / down / left / right / straight) and then blink 10 times in each position. Each time you blink, you don't need to squeeze your eyelids tightly, just close your eyes completely, then open them. Do it 5 times a day.