Eye Health Why You Blink Your Eyes By Troy Bedinghaus, OD Updated on June 05, 2023 Medically reviewed by Christine L. Larsen, MD Fact checked by Angela Underwood Print Hans Neleman / Getty Images As children, most of us had staring contests with siblings or friends. How long could you hold a stare without blinking? Your eyes burned and watered and finally you gave up. Why was it so hard to go very long without blinking? In fact, why do you need to blink at all? Blinking is necessary for two main reasons: clearing away dust particles and lubricating the eyeball. Even though you probably don't notice it, the average person blinks approximately 15 times a minute. The average blink speed can be affected by many things such as fatigue, and the use of medication. The human brain is capable of ignoring a blink, allowing you to have a continuous view of the world. Your Tear Film Blinking wipes and renews your tear film, the smooth, moist layer covering our eyeballs. Your tear film and tears are made of water, oil, and mucus (and hundreds of other components such as lysosomes, which function like natural antibiotics). The tear film also contains many nutrients and amino acids to nourish the cells in the cornea, the clear, dome-like structure on the front of the eye. Besides keeping your eyes lubricated, tear film also: Helps form an almost perfectly smooth optical surface on top of the cornea for light to focus properlyTransfers oxygen from the atmosphere to the cornea, since there are no blood vessels to deliver it directly.Prevents infection due to presence of lysosomes and other antibacterial enzymesWashes away debrisProvides a pathway for white blood cells when there is an injury to the surface Your eyelids play a significant role here. Aside from protecting your eye and keeping things dark while you sleep, they contain several glands that secrete the components of your tears when you blink. There is also a slight horizontal movement of the eyelid that pushes debris toward the puncta (tear ducts), small openings in the corners of the eyes through which tears drain. Tears then flush the debris. Blinking and Your Brain While these reasons for blinking are well-established, research also suggests that you may blink for your brain. Scientists speculate that blinks are a way to get a brief mental rest without visual stimuli. One study found that the precise moments we blink may not be random. We may blink at very predictable times, in fact. For example, when reading, most people blink at the end of a sentence. When people listen to a speech, they tend to blink when the speaker pauses between statements. And when people watch a video, they tend to blink when the action on the video lags for a moment. Researchers also found that when people blinked, mental activity spiked in certain areas of the brain that function when the mind is in a state of wakeful rest. They felt that activation of this part of the brain serves as a short mental break that allows for better attention when the eyes open again. Additional research is needed. 7 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. McMonnies CW. The clinical and experimental significance of blinking behavior. Journal of Optometry. 2020;13(2):74-80. doi: 10.1016/j.optom.2019.09.002. U.S. National Library of Medicine. Blinking. Zargari Marandi, R., Madeleine, P., Omland, Ø. et al. Eye movement characteristics reflected fatigue development in both young and elderly individuals. Sci Rep 8, 13148 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-31577-1 Fried M, Tsitsiashvili E, Bonneh YS, et al. ADHD subjects fail to suppress eye blinks and microsaccades while anticipating visual stimuli but recover with medication. Vision Research. 2014;101:62-72. doi: 10.1016/j.visres.2014.05.004 Hoppe D, Helfmann S, Rothkopf CA. Humans quickly learn to blink strategically in response to environmental task demands. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2018;115(9):2246-2251. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1714220115 National Eye Institute. How Tears Work. Nakano T, Kato M, Morito Y, Itoi S, Kitazawa S. Blink-related momentary activation of the default mode network while viewing videos. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA. 2013;110(2):702-706. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1214804110 Additional Reading Nakano T, Kato M, Morito Y, Itoi S, Kitazawa S. Blink-related momentary activation of the default mode network while viewing videos. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 2012;110(2):702-706. doi:10.1073/pnas.1214804110 By Troy Bedinghaus, OD Troy L. Bedinghaus, OD, board-certified optometric physician, owns Lakewood Family Eye Care in Florida. He is an active member of the American Optometric Association. See Our Editorial Process Meet Our Medical Expert Board Share Feedback Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! What is your feedback? Other Helpful Report an Error Submit