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The Science of Blinking: Why Screens Make You Forget

Every time you look at a screen, something remarkable happens to your eyes: you almost stop blinking. This isn’t a choice you make; it’s an involuntary response that researchers have studied for decades. Understanding why this happens is the first step to protecting your eye health. Before we can understand what goes wrong with screens, we need to establish what’s normal. A landmark 1997 study measured blink rates in 150 healthy volunteers and established the baseline we still reference today.1

At rest

17 blinks/min

Conversation

26 blinks/min

Reading

4.5 blinks/min
That’s a 55% reduction in blink rate just from reading, even before screens enter the picture. This suggests something fundamental about how visual concentration affects our blinking.

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The 70% reduction: Where the claim comes from

The often-cited claim that screen use reduces blink rate by 70% comes from a seminal 1993 study published in the New England Journal of Medicine.2 Researchers measured blink rates in 104 healthy office workers under different conditions:
ConditionBlinks per minute
Relaxed22 +/- 9
Reading a book10 +/- 6
Using a video display terminal7 +/- 7
This represents a 68% reduction from relaxed state to screen viewing. Subsequent studies have confirmed this finding, with one reporting a drop from 17 blinks per minute during conversation to just 6 while reading on screen.3
“The decrease in blink rate during VDT use is one of the most reproducible findings in the literature on computer vision syndrome.”

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Why does this happen?

When we’re concentrating, blinking decreases. This is thought to be an evolutionary adaptation: you don’t want to miss visual information when you’re focused on something important. Screens demand sustained visual attention, triggering this ancient response.
When reading on screens, our eyes are often more widely open than when reading books held lower. This increases the exposed corneal surface area, accelerating tear evaporation even without reduced blinking.
Screen refresh rates, contrast patterns, and the need to constantly refocus on pixelated text may all contribute to reduced blinking compared to printed materials.
Here’s something many people don’t know: it’s not just about how often you blink, but how completely you blink.
Research shows that incomplete blinks during computer use range from 0.9% to 56.5%, with a significant positive correlation between incomplete blinks and eye strain symptoms.4
A complete blink fully coats your cornea with fresh tear film. An incomplete blink leaves the lower portion of your cornea exposed, leading to localized drying and discomfort. One fascinating finding: when researchers tried to help people by providing audible reminders to blink more frequently, symptoms didn’t improve. This suggests that blink quality matters more than quantity.4
The squeeze blink exercise: Close your eyes normally for 2 seconds, close them again for 2 seconds, then squeeze them shut for 2 seconds. This promotes complete blinking and stimulates oil gland secretion. Research shows this technique improves tear film quality when practiced regularly.5

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Gaming: The extreme case

If you think office work is hard on your eyes, consider gaming. One study found that during high-dynamic video display tasks like video games, blink rates dropped to one-third of baseline, while incomplete blinks rose from 80% to 92%.6 This creates a perfect storm for dry eye symptoms:
  • Drastically reduced blink frequency
  • Almost no complete blinks
  • Extended session durations
  • Often in dry, air-conditioned environments
The good news is that targeted interventions can make a difference. A randomized controlled trial tested “Blink-Blink” software that provided 8 blink reminders per minute to computer users.7 The results were encouraging:
  • Significant improvement in dry eye symptom scores
  • Increased spontaneous blink rate
  • Effects persisted even one month after stopping the intervention
This suggests that our blink patterns aren’t fixed. With the right training, we can learn to maintain healthier blinking habits even during screen use.
This is exactly why we built EyeRhythm. By showing you your real-time blink rate, you become aware of when you’re entering the danger zone. Awareness is the first step to building better habits. Try it free.

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Key takeaways

1

The reduction is real

Blink rate drops 65-70% during screen use. This is one of the most consistently replicated findings in vision research.
2

Quality matters more than quantity

Incomplete blinks are often the bigger problem. Focus on blinking fully, not just frequently.
3

Training works

Your blink patterns aren’t fixed. With awareness and practice, you can maintain healthier habits that persist over time.
4

Take strategic breaks

Give your eyes regular opportunities to reset. Even brief breaks from screen focus can help normalize blink patterns.

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References

  1. Bentivoglio AR, et al. (1997). Analysis of blink rate patterns in normal subjects. Movement Disorders, 12(6):1028-1034. DOI: 10.1002/mds.870120629. PMID: 9399231
  2. Tsubota K, Nakamori K. (1993). Dry eyes and video display terminals. New England Journal of Medicine, 328(8):584. DOI: 10.1056/NEJM199302253280817. PMID: 8426634
  3. Schlote T, et al. (2004). Marked reduction and distinct patterns of eye blinking in patients with moderately dry eyes during video display terminal use. Graefe’s Archive for Clinical and Experimental Ophthalmology, 242:306-312. DOI: 10.1007/s00417-003-0845-z
  4. Portello JK, et al. (2013). Blink rate, incomplete blinks and computer vision syndrome. Optometry and Vision Science, 90(5):482-487. DOI: 10.1097/OPX.0b013e31828f09a7. PMID: 23538437
  5. Kim AD, et al. (2021). Effect of a structured blinking exercise program on symptoms and tear film parameters in dry eye disease. Contact Lens and Anterior Eye, 44(1):101321. DOI: 10.1016/j.clae.2020.04.014. PMID: 32409236
  6. Cardona G, et al. (2011). Blink rate, blink amplitude, and tear film integrity during dynamic visual display terminal tasks. Current Eye Research, 36(3):190-197. DOI: 10.3109/02713683.2010.544442. PMID: 21275516
  7. Ashwini DL, et al. (2021). Randomized controlled trial of software-based reminders on blink rate and dry eye symptoms. Indian Journal of Ophthalmology, 69(10):2632-2637. DOI: 10.4103/ijo.IJO_3405_20. PMID: 34571605