In The Blink of An Eye

Why aren’t people bothered by the interruptions to vision caused by blinking?

• The brain is designed to ignore very brief moments of darkness.

• Blinking relaxes people’s eyes.

• Blinking removes dust that lands on the eyes.

• The brain can process information even when people’s eyes are closed.

The section “Think Before You Blink” is organized in a way that shows —

• how blinking is affected by the use of different electronic devices

• the various factors associated with blinking rates

• the different benefits babies and adults get from blinking

• which parts of the eye are responsible for blinking

Based on the labels in the diagram of the human eye, the reader can conclude that —

• more muscles are used to move the eye than to blink

• eye muscles are stronger than any other muscles in the body

• blinking provides several benefits to the eyeball

• blinking happens in a way that does not affect a person’s vision

Read this sentence from paragraph 1.

Blinking usually occurs automatically, like your heartbeat.

Which statement from the article supports the idea in this sentence?

• That’s when the muscles that control eyelids eventually lose some of their tone and ability to move.

• You rarely notice this type of blink, which is incredibly fast.

• Without this repeated lubrication, your eyeballs begin to dry, and your eyelids feel sticky.

• Each time you blink, your eye closes for about three-tenths of a second.

In what paragraph do we find the answer to this question?

Which sentence from the article helps explain why staring at a computer screen affects blink rates?

Which sentence from the article helps explain why staring at a computer screen affects blink rates?

• Then blink rates decrease as people move into older adulthood

• After 30 seconds you probably struggle to resist closing and then reopening your eyes.

• You’ll blink less when you’re concentrating on something.

• When you’re thinking but not actually looking at something, your blink rate will also decrease.

In what paragraph do we find the answer to this question?

Why aren’t people bothered by the interruptions to vision caused by blinking?