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ADHD & How Anyone Can Improve Their Focus

Huberman Lab

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Eye Blinks and Their Effects on Perception of Time

Blinks of thinking, also known as attentional blinks, are moments when the mind shuts off and misses information. Actual blinks with the eyelids can be fast and spontaneous, or long like when you go to sleep. When you sleep, the long blink of closing your eyelids limits the information coming in, causing your perception of time to change. In both sleep and wakefulness, the perception of time can vary, with higher alertness leading to a higher frame rate of analyzing time. Stress can make time seem to go slower, while relaxation or sleepiness can make time appear to go faster. Scientific research supports the connection between blinking and time perception. One study titled 'Time Dilates after Spontaneous Blinking' found that blinks reset our perception of time. Blinks can be compared to the curtain coming down between scenes in a play or takes in a movie.

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