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Currently, if your eyes are closed you can still get a sense of the light around you, and moving your head around you can tell if you're moving it toward or away from a light source (barring maybe if you're outdoors and it's bright out all around you).

But what if when we closed our eyes it was like full blackout? Would blinking become disorienting? Could it mess up circadian rhythms? Something else? Or would it not really matter?

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[-] justlookingfordragon@lemmy.world 36 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

You can see your nose at all times, as it is within your field of vision at all times - but your brain filters it out, so what you actually "see" is a nose-free impression of your surroundings. It works like a movie editor that removes unwanted parts from raw footage before the movie is actually shown to the public.

If blinking were a total blackout for a fraction of a second, I'd wager the human brain would have developed a workaround to delete that / filter it out as well, so you wouldn't even notice a difference.

[-] UncleBadTouch@lemmy.ca 19 points 11 months ago

so what you actually “see” is a nose-free impression of your surroundings

yeah, i wish.

I was gifted a big fat bulbous beak from my parents, it's half my vision!

[-] Aleric@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

Same. No matter how fast I turn my head, it always seems to move faster!

[-] Drusas@kbin.social 3 points 11 months ago

I've got a narrow nose, and I still notice it all the time.

[-] NegativeInf@lemmy.world 14 points 11 months ago

Already does. Persistence of vision. It's why some seconds seem longer when you look at a clock suddenly. Your brain fills in the missing "frames" with what it thinks should be there.

[-] glimse@lemmy.world 21 points 11 months ago

I'd sleep way better and wouldn't need blackout curtains

[-] Drusas@kbin.social 7 points 11 months ago

But then you wouldn't be able to naturally wake up in the morning, which is best triggered by light much as the release of melatonin is triggered by darkness.

[-] glimse@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

I don't wake up to the light though

[-] Drusas@kbin.social 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

It helps with waking much as darkness does with sleeping, but it similarly is not going to be enough to overcome under sleeping or a sleep disorder.

[-] glimse@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

Sure but I need help going to (and staying) sleep, not waking up. My natural wake up time is before the sun rises (430-5am)

[-] plistig@feddit.de 5 points 11 months ago

Have you tried abusing prescription drugs?

[-] Drusas@kbin.social -4 points 11 months ago

Interestingly, you note that your natural wake up time is when the sun rises, but don't recognize that it might be because that's when the sun rises.

[-] glimse@lemmy.world 5 points 11 months ago

Interestingly, I wake up 2 hours before sunrise and noted my use of blackout curtains regardless.

[-] Drusas@kbin.social -3 points 11 months ago

Sounds like you have a relatively healthy sleep-wake schedule.

[-] plistig@feddit.de 4 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

Most people need to work in the winter, too. It's still dark outside in the morning either way, whether my eyelids are translucent or not.

[-] Drusas@kbin.social 3 points 11 months ago

You can make it a lot easier to wake up in the winter months by getting a sunlight clock.

[-] astraeus@programming.dev 17 points 11 months ago* (last edited 11 months ago)

I would say most things would not be much different, but circadian rhythm is probably the most relevant part. If your eyes cannot sense sunlight in the morning, ~~your sleep will no longer be affected by daytime hours~~. Edit: your skin can also sense changes in light, it could potentially also detect sunlight in the morning if exposure is strong enough. Thanks @Repelle for the insight! Article: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389556721000022

Our mind doesn’t really process the time we blink, whether light comes through or not. If we had it happen our entire life, I’m sure we’d probably adapt quickly to having a complete blackout when closing our eyes.

[-] Repelle@lemmy.world 11 points 11 months ago

I vaguely recall a study from well over a decade ago where they used a light patch so that the only change in light for the sleeping participants would be on the skin and showed that circadian rhythm wasn’t dependent (solely, at least) on eyesight. Mind you this is a vague memory from a long time ago so take it with a grain of salt.

[-] astraeus@programming.dev 6 points 11 months ago

Not the article you were thinking of, but reinforces your point. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1389556721000022

Tl;dr, there are light sensors, or at least light energy sensing mechanisms, in our skin.

[-] CarbonatedPastaSauce@lemmy.world 3 points 11 months ago

There was a study of a guy who lived underground for months with no timekeeping devices. His only contact was with other researchers by telephone, and not often. His sleep schedule and length he’d stay awake got super wonky but he had no idea. So the complete lack of light certainly has an effect.

[-] Drusas@kbin.social 14 points 11 months ago

It would have a negative impact on your sleep-wake cycle, which relies on light and darkness. You would fall asleep more easily but struggle to wake up.

[-] PetDinosaurs@lemmy.world 7 points 11 months ago

Nothing would happen. You blink for a fraction of a second.

Also, note that the eyelids of people with darker skin already pass less light than those of people with lighter skin. (That is the purpose of darker skin)

this post was submitted on 11 Nov 2023
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