So that’s the danger of looking at the sun."įor more information on the eclipse, visit NASA’s eclipse website. Depending upon the length of time that we’re staring at that bright light, it can either be temporary loss or it can be permanent loss. Brown adds, "When we have intense light, the eyes don’t have the ability to recover, and we can lose visual function. They’re very fragile, and, after they fire off in response to light, they have to be able to recover."ĭr. He continues, "The rods and cones take the light energy and transmit it to neural energy.
Staring at the sun benefits series#
Brown says when light enters the eye, it causes a complex series of reactions to occur in the rods and the cones that are very sensitive to light. Well, when you’re staring at the sun, they don’t have a chance to recover, and they may totally be lost due to the damage that can occur from looking at the sun."ĭr. When a camera flashes, you get this afterimage because the rods and the cones have to recover from that. Well, when you’re staring at the sun, they don’t have a chance to recover, and they may totally be lost due to the damage that can occur from looking at the sun."
Eclipse glasses absorb more like 99.9999 percent," says Dr. Brown says the only time the sun can be viewed without these proper safety glasses will be during total eclipse - that short time when the moon covers the sun completely. "The sun is so intense, regular sunglasses only absorb maybe 90 percent of the sunlight and the light in our environment. There has been a lot of newly realized data on the benefits of sun exposure. The term, sun-worshiping has been used for a ions and humans have enjoyed the outdoors and the benefits of Vitamin D.
So it's not too late for the reminder that staring directly at the sun can seriously damage your eyes, if you aren't using specifically designed eclipse glasses.ĭr. For thousands of years, humans have noted the benefits of sunlight.
William Brown, a Mayo Clinic optometrist, says it's not safe at all. How long is it safe to look directly at the sun? Dr.