Different drivers blink at roughly the same points in a circuit, which could reflect their synchronized mental states as they focus on driving the car. Blinking lubricates our eyes, but how it relates to other aspects of our health is unclear. If we study this further, we can gain more insight into conditions where the blink rate changes, such as Parkinson’s disease.
In general, we blink 12 times per minute, with each blink lasting about a third of a second. Our blink rate is linked to the attention we give to a particular task, with some people blinking less when concentrating on a screen.
“Many people think that blinking is only done to moisten the eyes, but a few blinks per minute are enough for that.” say Ryota Nishizono at NTT Communication Science Laboratories in Atsugi, Japan.
To study how driving can affect blinking, Nishizono and his colleagues looked at three professional male drivers who work for a Formula racing team. The drivers completed 304 practice laps at three circuits in Japan: Fuji, Suzuka and Sugo. Binoculars mounted on their helmets recorded their blinks, counted by machine learning.
An analysis of the data showed that, while the drivers’ flashing rates differed, they generally flashed at roughly the same points on each track, with their flashing rates decreasing as they drove faster.
Nishizono says the team was initially surprised to see such consistent blinking patterns among the three drivers, but since their steering patterns were similar at each track, it is likely to be expected that their cognitive states, and thus perhaps their blinking, are somewhat synchronized .
“Factors influencing the timing of eye blinking are numerous and not fully understood,” says Omar Mahroe from University College London. A better understanding of blinking could increase our knowledge about conditions such as Parkinson’s disease, which is associated with a reduced blink rateand blepharospasm — twitching or blinking eyelids that a person can’t control, he says.
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