Such a simple action as blinking performs many important functions.
For example, when you close and open your eyelids, your eyes are cleared of debris, moisturized, and your cornea, which has no blood vessels, receives oxygen.
If you leave your eyes open for too long, your cornea will begin to lack oxygen, which will eventually cause swelling, pain, and blurred vision. It also increases the likelihood that harmful germs will enter your eyes.
Despite this, history knows many people who consciously tried not to close their eyes – their goal was to set a world record.
For example, in 2011, a competition was organized in Australia, in which participants competed among themselves to see who could go the longest without blinking.
The winner was Fergal Fleming, who managed to keep his eyelids open for 40 minutes and 59 seconds.
Fleming's eyes, as he later recounted, began to water heavily at 10-1 minutes, and the sensations he experienced after half an hour could be compared to having a tattoo applied to his eyeballs - this is exactly how corneal edema, which we discussed earlier, feels.
However, the title of record holder in this category belongs to Anand Haridas, a resident of India. He was able to stay with his eyes open for 1 hour and 31 minutes during trataka meditation – a tantric practice in which a yogi clears the mind by staring at a small object, such as a candle flame or just a point in space.
