Blinking is the opening and closing of the eyelid. It is an essential function of the eye that helps spread tears across, and remove irritants from, the surface of the cornea and conjunctiva. Each blink typically takes between 100 and 150 milliseconds from start to finish.

Women and men do not differ in their rates of spontaneous blinking (M.J. Doughty, 2002, Optom Vis Sci), averaging around 10 blinks per minute in a laboratory setting. However, there is an established gender difference in inhibition of the startle response blink: men (and lesbian women) manifest greater inhibition of the reflex than heterosexual women (Q. Rahman et al., 2003, Behavioral Neuroscience). When an animal (usually human) chooses to blink only one eye as a signal to another in a social setting (a form of body language), it is known as winking.

See also

• Corneal reflex

Eye

Nyctation