Why do we blink?

Question

Why do man and those with life forms with lids blink? Thanks. :)

Answer 1

To attract the attention of the opposite sex...

Answer 2

Blinking provides moisture to the eye by irrigation using tears and a lubricant the eyes secrete. The eyelid provides suction across the eye from the tear duct to the entire eyeball to keep it from drying out.

Blinking also protects the eye from irritants. Eyelashes are hairs attached to the upper and lower eyelids that create a line of defense against dust and other elements to the eye. The eyelashes catch most of these irritants before they reach the eyeball.

There are multiple muscles that control the reflex of blinking. The main muscles, in the upper eyelid, that control the opening and closing are the orbicularis oculi and levator palpebrae superioris muscle. The orbicularis oculi closes the eye, while the relaxation and contraction of the levator palpebrae muscle opens the eye. The Müller’s muscle, or the superior palpebral muscle, in the upper eyelid and the inferior palpebral muscle in the lower eyelid are responsible for widening the eyes. These muscles are not only imperative in blinking, but they are also important in many other functions such as squinting and winking.

Blinking our eye play is also an important role in communication body language.

Answer 3

Blinking keeps our eyes from drying out and cleans any particles away.

Also, blinking in response to a sudden movement is a way of protecting our eyes from damage -- keeping foreign objects away from our eyeballs. I can see how selection pressures could have selected for blinking. Those individuals that didn't have this reflex would have been more likely to have their eyes damaged, affecting their ability to find food and increasing the likelihood of injuries that might lead to infections.

Answer 4

Throughout our body, blood vessels carry oxygen to our cells. However, in the eye, blood vessels are not able to surround it because if they did, our vision would be cluttered. Instead, we get oxygen into our eyes by water. The tears in our eyes carry oxygen which diffuses into our eyes. Blinking helps spread the tears over our eyes and keeps the water from evaporating. If we didn't blink, we would go blind because of a lack of oxygen to the eyes. In fact, in the olden days, in some country... they used to cut off people's eyelids for torture so that they wouldn't be able to blink. This would cause them to go blind.

Other lifeforms (such as fish) that don't have eyelids have a protective covering over their eyes to keep in oxygen.

Answer 5

Our eyes are very sensitive and need to be properly moisturized. When we blink, our tears moisturize the top layer of our eyeballs. Also, if its bright outside, we blink to reduce the impact of the light (which is damaging to our rods and cones in our retinas).

Answer 6

It wets the eye. The lense and cornea needs to be wetted with tears to maintain flexibilty and ward off infections. the tears are more than just salty water, they contain protiens and antibodies to protect the exposed parts of the eye

Answer 7

We blink so that we can keep our eyes moist and they wont dry out/

Answer 8

Think of them as miniature automatic intermittent windshield wipers. Their primary purpose is to keep the eye moist. It also "wipes" the dirt off them.

Answer 9

To maintain the fluid surrounding our eyes and dispose of any debris that makes its way onto your eye.

Answer 10

To keep the eyeballs moist.