Why Do We Blink When We're Surprised?

We blink when we're surprised because our brain wants to protect our eyes and process the surprise at the same time. Imagine you’re eating a sandwich, and suddenly a fly lands on your nose, whoosh! You blink, and it’s like your brain is saying, 'I see that fly, but I need a second to figure out what just happened!' Blinking helps us reset our vision so we can react better.

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Examples

  1. You're watching a movie, and the main character jumps out, blink!
  2. A friend shouts your name from across the room, whoosh! you blink.
  3. Your dog suddenly darts into the kitchen, blink!

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Categories: Psychology · Blinking· Surprise· Neuroscience · Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.