20+ Reasons to Love Your Eyes

Let’s take a minute to truly appreciate our eyes. They’re amazing and mysterious and the most intricate organ in our bodies. Our eyes do incredible things every day and they just don’t get enough recognition. So, to show them some respect, here are 15+ amazing facts about your eyes:

1. On average, humans blink 5.2 million times per year.
2. One-in-twelve men is colorblind. That mean’s we’ve all come across someone who has trouble distinguishing between colors. Maybe it’s time for some qualifying questions before asking, “How does this look?”.
3. Your eye contains 7 million cones, which help you see detail and color, and 100 million rods, which help you see in the dark.
4. Heterochromia is when a person has eyes that are two different colors.
5. Babies don’t produce tears until they are 4-13 weeks old (before that they just make crying noises).
6. An embryo begins to develop eyes just 2 weeks after conception.
7. All babies are born colorblind, so they don’t fully appreciate the work you put into the nursey.
8. An eye is only about 1-inch wide, yet it contains 2 million parts.
9. The cornea is the only tissue in our bodies that doesn’t have blood vessels running through it.
10. Shark corneas are so similar to our own that they can be transplanted into humans!
11. The reason your nose runs when you cry is that tears drain into your nasal passages. So… less gross?
12. If you saw in megapixels, your eyes would be 576 MP. Compare that to your typical 12 MP camera.
13. Facial hair for the win! Eyebrows prevent sweat from dripping in your eyes and eyelashes protect against dust and dirt. (We’re not sure what beards do.)
14. The shape of your eye can determine whether you’re nearsighted (longer than normal) or farsighted (shorter than normal).
15. Eyelashes renew about every 5 months, much faster than the hair on your head.
16. Your eyes can get sunburned, too! Photokeratitis is the proper name for peeling corneal tissue. Remember to always wear 100% UV protective sunglasses to avoid this painful situation.
17. The muscles that move your eyes are the most active in your entire body. It takes six skeletal muscles around each eye to control their full range of movement. On top of that, your eyes blink an average of 12x per minute.
18. You blink less frequently when focusing on a screen, and that can cause dryness and a feeling of “tired” eyes.
19. Images fall onto the retina upside down, but our brain corrects this for us.
20. Most corneal abrasions can heal in just 48 hours. 
21. Sight takes up 50% of the brain’s functionality.
22. Eyeballs can’t be transplanted – there are just too many connection points.
23. 80% of vision problems can be avoided or even cured.  Make an appointment with a doctor for your annual eye exam today.  Need a doctor? We can help you!

Sources
VSP Blog
Discovery Eye