Blink if your brain needs a rest
Why do we spend roughly 10% of our waking hours with our eyes closed -- blinking far more often than is actually necessary to keep our eyeballs lubricated? Scientists have pried open the answer to this mystery, finding that the human brain uses that tiny moment of shut-eye to power down.
For more of this great article by Melissa Healy go to the LA TIMES
The article closed with this truism. It's what every mother already knows.
Though the current study didn't examine the relationship between blinking and deception, others have: While telling a lie, liars have been found to blink less -- possibly because the act of deception requires rapt and uninterrupted attention to pull it off. In the seconds after telling a lie, however, the liar will blink far more frequently than a truth-teller. Perhaps the resulting downtime is necessary for the liar to consider whether the deceived person was buying the fib -- or whether it was worth telling in the first place.
What was the old school yard cry? "Liar, liar pants on fire" But at home mom always said, "Look me in the eye." Now we know why. Ha-ha -- enjoy!
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