what is the advantage of having lighter coloured eyes?

Question

i know darker coloured eyes are less sensitive to the sun and less likely to have problems like caterachts. so does the sensitivity of lightly coloured eyes make it easier for people with blue eyes (for example) to see in the dark? what is the advantage of lightly coloured eyes?
thanks

Answer 1

I have green eyes and the sun especially in the summer is very harsh I always have to wear sunglasses. But the advantage to that is I see really well at night, I have compared myself to others(with dark eyes) by asking what they can see and at what distance and I can always see more than they can in the dark and I am not blinded by on coming lights.

If I travel long distances I try to do it at night because during the day I get tired, and I think this has to do with the brightness because I can travel farther at night without getting as tired and my eyes feeling grainy.

My son also has dark brown eyes and during the summer he is fine when it is bright outside but my daughter complains that it is too bright and she has green eyes. They also have the reverse effect at night.

Answer 2

I have lightly coloured eyes, and I find they are very sensitive to light. However this only makes seeing at night more difficult I think because any light that is available during the night (like a street lamp for instance) adds "noise" and temporarily washes out whatever I could have seen that was dark. I believe this is genetic however, (my mother has the same problem - also light eyes), and has nothing to do with my eye colour.

Answer 3

As human beings migrated to the north however tens of thousands of years ago. The northern latitudes provided less intense light so over the years natural selection favored light eyes. The advantage may have been only for mating and identification of tribes since there are no real sight advantages from dark to light.

Answer 4

There is no known advantage to lightly-colored eyes. However, in northern climates, there IS an advantage to lighter skin - it allows the absorption of more sunlight, and thus more Vitamin D.

Both eyes and skin are colored by melanin. People with blue eyes have less melanin (only the deepest muscle layer of the iris is colored). The eyes appear blue because of the angle of diffraction.

Northern climates would tend to produce light-colored eyes, even in absence of a genetic benefit, because eye color is very strongly linked with skin color. They are controlled by the same genes (roughly 4-6 genes is the best current estimate).

Answer 5

I have light sensitive eyes too and my eyes are so dark that my mom says I'm full of sh*t.

Answer 6

I don't know of any.Mine are very light-sensitive,and I particularly notice it when I am with my brown eyed son in the sun,and I am squinting ,and he is not.

Answer 7

I do not know but I have dark brown eyes and my husbands are blue and he has perfect eyesight and I wear glasses.

Answer 8

They always look beautiful and sincere.

I love light coloured eyes- mine are blue- and I wouldn't change them for the world.

They look healthier than darker eyes. Just my own opinion.

*LOL*

Answer 9

We get more looks!!!

My hubby has black hair and BRIGHT blue eyes. All I can say is....WOW!!! I have green eyes. We both can see in the dark. We have super power x-ray vision. I guess you have to have light colored eyes for this type of sight. I honestly thought that everyone had it until they told me that only Superheroes have it.

:)

Answer 10

I am grey eyed and half blind. I think most light colored eye people eventually need glasses.