10 Things You NEVER Knew About The Human Eye

Yes, your eyelashes WILL grow back if you pull them out..........

They say that the eyes are the window to the soul, and the majority of people in relationships state that the first thing they notice when they meet a new partner is their eyes (liars); but how much do you really know about the amazing, fascinating and quite frankly ridiculous things your peepers are capable of?

Here are 10 things aimed at giving you a little more insight into the crazy world of the human eye……

1. Your Eyes Can Change from One Colour To Another

PICSLIST.COM / Via Giphy.com

Did you know that when we are first born, most of us will have blue eyes, but this doesn’t necessarily determine the colour they will remain for the entirety of our lives?

Within the first three years of childhood, our eye colour can darken from the lightest blue to the darkest brown. This darkening occurs if melanin, a brown pigment not typically present at birth, begins to develop as we grow.

It’s important to note that a child can be born with different eye colours to its parents (don't want any of those postman rumours, do we now?), meaning that although it is extremely unlikely that two brown-eyed parents could create a blue-eyed child, it is a possibility (postman off the hook).

2. Tiny Spiders Could Be Living In Your Eyelashes, Like RIGHT NOW

FORESKLN.TUMBLR.COM / Via Giphy.com

Apologies if you are reading this whilst eating your lunch, but yes, you may well have tiny mites (belonging to the arachnid family) living within your eyelashes at this very moment.

The microscopic creatures, scientifically named ‘follicle mites’, feed on dead skin cells and glandular secretions *yummy*. Although each mite lives for just 19-23 days, a female can lay up to 25 of her eggs in ONE hair follicle, so things can get out of hard pretty swiftly.

Experts recommend regular tea tree oil facial scrubs to combat the mites, as well as making sure your bedding is washed as often as possible, as the mite eggs will be destroyed in a hot wash.

3. Laser Eye Surgery Is NOT As Scary As You Might Think

opticalexpress.co.uk / Via Giphy.com

The idea of laser eye surgery is one that can easily send a chill down the spine of the millions of Britons who rely on glasses or contact lenses in their everyday lives; but when you consider the advanced technology and success rate of procedures, there is really no need to be concerned at all.

Firstly, did you know that the entire procedure takes just a matter of minutes? Not only that but there is relatively little to no pain due to the developed numbing techniques used. The only real discomfort patients tend to report comes from the dryness of having to keep your eyes open throughout the 1-2 minute procedure.

Don’t take our word for it though, check out this narrated video filmed by the guys at Optical Express showing a procedure that was filmed live.

4. You Will Blink 28,800 Times Today

TUMBLR.COM / Via Giphy.com

Blinking is one of those things that we don’t notice we’re doing until it’s pointed out to us. The purpose of blinking is to help spread tears across the eye to remove irritants from the surface of the cornea and conjunctiva. Whilst infants only blink between 1-2 times a minute, the average human adult will do so 15-20 times every sixty seconds; that’s 1,200 times an hour, and 28,800 times A DAY!

5. Your Eyeballs DO Grow With Age

CHEEZBURGER.COM / Via Giphy.com

Remember that playground myth about your eyes being the only part of you that doesn’t grow at all after you’re born?

Yeah, not true at all. Don't worry though, they're not going to end up the size of planets or anything though.

Truth is, whilst babies’ eyes are disproportionately larger than their other features during infancy; eyeballs can actually grow as much as 7mm in circumference by the time you reach adulthood.

6. Eyebrows Actually Have a Scientific Purpose

ITSGOODFORTHESOUL.TUMBLR.COM / Via Giphy.com

Bet you thought your eyebrows only have one purpose in life; to cost you a small fortune in waxing and threading in order to stay perfectly tamed and to help you stay looking your most fierce self, right?

Wrong.

The real function of our eyebrows is to make sure that any excess moisture (from rain or, ew, sweat) stays out of our delicate eyes. The arched design of the humble eyebrow helps to divert any fluids to the side of our faces, keeping our eyes completely clean and clear. So, Liverpudlian and Geordie ladies who shave their eyebrows off in favour of a dramatic, pencilled look basically have sweaty eyeballs... is what I'm trying to say.

The average eyebrow also has an average lifespan of just four months!

7. Your Eye Colour Might Not Be As Common As You Think

G1FT3D.COM / Via Giphy.com

Ever wondered how prevalent your eye colour is amongst the other six billion humans in the world?

Brown is the most common by a mile, with 55% of the world’s population possessing this eye colour, followed by Blue (8%), Hazel (8%), Amber (5%) and Green (2%).

Count yourself very lucky if you have Heterochromia Iridum or eyes that are two different colours, as it occurs in just 0.6% of the human population.

8. Eyelashes Grow In Three Stages, And WILL Grow Back If You Cut Them Off

glamour-glitter-gold.tumblr.com / Via Giphy.com

Forgetting the falsies you spend a good 20 minutes trying to apply with that smelly glue before a night out for a second, did you know your eyelashes grow in three different stages?

First off, there is the the anagen phase (the active growth period), then follows the catagen phase (transitional period), and finally the telogen phase (resting period). At any given time, approximately 90% of the lashes on each eye are in the active growth stage where they grow about .16 millimetres a day, so if you have a moment of madness and cut them all off, they will grow back, just VERY slowly.

9. Your Eyeballs WON’T Pop Out of their Sockets If You Sneeze With Open Eyelids

GIFBAY.COM / Via Giphy.com

Despite what you might have been taught at school, your eyeballs are really quite secure and fixed in, and therefore even the most powerful eruption of a sneeze, which can travel out of your nose at over 200mph, will not cause them to pop out of the sockets even if your eyes are open.

The reason that your eyelids instinctively shut is down to a simple reflex, and whilst it is perfectly possible for some humans to sneeze with their eyes open without any unfortunate incidents, we would not recommend you try it the next time you have a cold!

10. Certain Foods Can Help Improve Your Eyesight

twodumbgirls.tumblr.com / Via Giphy.com

Keeping your eyes and your quality of vision in tip-top condition begins with the food you dish up on your plate. Studies have previously indicated that nutrients like fatty acids, zinc, and vitamins C and E could well prevent age-related vision problems such as macular degeneration and cataracts, studies show.

So, whilst carrots may not help you to see in the dark like your mum and dad promised you to make you eat your tea as a kid, they do contain zinc and vitamin E, so there is some truth in the whole eye health benefits of the veg. Other good foods to munch on for the sake of your eyes are...

• Green, leafy vegetables like spinach and kale

• Salmon, tuna and mackerel

• Eggs, nuts and beans

• Oranges and other citrus fruits or juices