Why Do We See Colors Even With Eyes Closed?

Do you see colors each time you close your eyes? There are a couple of different conditions that can cause us to see colors each time we close our eyes. The first one is, if we shut our eyes at the daytime outside or inside a very bright room.

In an article on The Conversation, Katrina Schmid, who is working for the Queensland University of Technology's School of Optometry and Vision Science wrote "some light does go through closed eyelids."

Therefore, she explained, we might "see dark reddish color" since the lids comprise lots of blood vessels in them and this is the light that takes on the color of the blood it is passing through. Frequently though, we see different colors, as well as patterns, each time we shut our eyes in the dark.

Sharing her own experience, Schmid wrote, each time she shuts her eyes in the dark, she sees a "pattern that's full of dots and sparkles." And when she's in the dark for a longer period, she's seeing swirls and waves of colored tots "travelling through my vision."

These perceptions, she continued, are what scientists identify as "phosphenes," the light's sensation that's not actually brought by light.

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There are certain conditions that cause humans to see colors every time they close their eyes. One of them is, if when the eyes are shut at the daytime outside, or inside a bright room.

'Phosphenes'

Researchers believe that actual or real light may play an important role in phosphenes, or the strange dots or drops we see with eyes closed. However, they explain, it's "not ordinary light" as it comes from inside our eyes.

In a similar way that deep-sea creatures and fireflies can glow, cells inside our eyes release biologically-produced light particles called biophotons.

According to Hungarian neuroscientist, Istvan Bokkon, who works at the Massachusetts-based Vision Research Institute, we're seeing biophotonic lights "inside our eyes in the same way" we are seeing photons from external light.

Biophotons do exist in our eyes because our atoms consistently release and absorb small particles of light or photons.

Such a photon exchange is only a part of normal function of cells. Our eyes cannot determine the difference between protons from external light and the biophotons our own atoms are emitting.

Either way, our optic nerve is simply relaying or delivering these signals to our brain, which then, must decide if it precisely signifies the real world around us, or if it is only a phosphene.

Is Seeing Colors With Eyes Closed a Disease?

Experts say seeing colors when we close our eyes is completely normal. It is only part of the way our eyes are working. Some people notice such an occurrence, but many still don't.

Nevertheless, much more noticeable phospehenes continue explaining, can take place in some eye diseases. Say, our seeing has changed, and the light's patterns turn out to be much more noticeable or stay for quite longer, it could be an indication of a problem.

For instance, bright flashing can be resulting from a retinal detachment wherein the retina partly comes away from the back of our eyeball, and which should be treated as an emergency.

Additionally, some people are getting the so-called "visual aura" when they are experiencing a specific headache also known as migraine.

In the article, Schmid wrote, if what you are seeing has changed drastically, or you are already worried about what you're seeing, it is best that you visit your eye doctor.

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Check out more news and information on Optical Illusions in Science Times.