#6 In the Blink of an Eye

I don't know about you, but I am the type of kid who doesn't like to miss a single beat. So I pondered, with every blink of an eye, what I was missing? Why on earth must I blink? Can I force myself not to blink so I don't miss out on anything? Ha, and so I tried!

I sat in my room staring at my video game. I thought to myself, "I won't lose this battle if I keep my eyes open. I must not blink. If I blink, I won't see the enemy coming at me."

"Do not blink," I kept repeating to myself.

Guess what? I blinked. I didn't see the enemy. I lost the battle. I was so mad! In fact, the more I forced myself not to blink, the harder it was for me to focus and see the screen and it made playing my game harder.

I am always being told nothing is impossible. Wrong! I found it to be impossible not to blink. Why is this? I began to do some research. Now I figure I will save you some time and share what I learned so you don't have to play the "No Blinking Game" and find out for yourself.

Blinking is something our bodies force us to do in order to protect our eyes. It is called an involuntary action. It is involuntary because we have no control over it. One thing is for certain, we will blink. Sometimes we will blink more often than other times. If we are nervous or stressed, our eyes tend to blink faster than if we are intently focused on a task.

The eye is very sensitive and because it is exposed to the atmosphere, it is constantly tangling with dust, debris and even bugs that are flying around. I hate when a bug flies into my eye! I thought about that for a moment as I recalled the last time it happened. When the bug caught my eye, my body naturally began to tear up and I blinked a lot. It was my body's way of saying, "Hey, bug, out! You don't belong here. Scram!"

Blinking our eyes is a way to shield our eyes from these foreign objects and the tears wash out the debris.

Blinking also helps to put moisture back into our eyes. Being so exposed to the sun and wind, they tend to dry out. A film of tears forms in our eyes each time we blink. These tears keep our eyes lubricated and help to maintain clear vision.

While it was true that I blinked less when I was purposely trying not to blink during my video game, I still blinked. It's a necessity. Rather than play the "No Blinking Game," I would recommend trying another game. Guess the number of times you will naturally blink your eyes on one minute. Next, count the number of times you blinked your eyes. How close was your guess? Have your friends do it too and share your results. Everyone will have a different number. It can be a fun game!