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Bit-Tree-Dabook t1_j6jyrom wrote

Reply to comment by Spiritual_Jaguar4685 in ELI5 why do your eyes adjust so fast to bright light but so slowly to darkness? by melig1991

Other fun military fact, they tell you to decrease the time to gain "unaided night vision" you should close your eyes and shut out as much light as possible. This way they adjust faster and better. Learned it in the Marines and I still do it to this day to adjust to the dark better.

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GalFisk t1_j6k2d5m wrote

A third fun fact is that the Mythbusters found it plausible that pirate captains could've used eye patches to preserve some darkness sensitivity in one eye, so that they'd be able to see well both above and below deck without having to adjust to the gloom below.

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Jiopaba t1_j6l88m0 wrote

After learning this, I tried the trick myself a few times on late night trips to the bathroom. I can navigate my bedroom fine in the dark, and I'd close one eye before turning on the light.

It worked surprisingly great, though it gave me an oddly unbalanced feeling. I'd compare it to vertigo maybe? The eye that I kept closed/covered could still see perfectly fine when I turned off the lights and opened it again. The other eye couldn't see squat. I think it messed with my depth perception a bunch, because I was basically blind in one eye.

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forehead2k t1_j6ljv62 wrote

I do the same thing for the same reason as you. Only difference is that when I turn off the light I close the bright-adjusted eye and rely solely on the dark-adjusted eye. Keeping them both open after turning the lights off messes with my head and lack of depth perception isn’t a huge trouble for a quick trip to the bathroom.

On the handful of occasions where I am in the dark for longer, I will open both eyes after a minute or so.

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Abbot_of_Cucany t1_j6lep6z wrote

I just have a night-light in my bathroom, aimed towards the toilet. That way I never have to turn on the main bathroom light at night.

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rodolink t1_j6m50cu wrote

crazy i found out this by myself, figured out closing my eyes before entering a dark room and opening them a bit was easier to adjust, finally found the reason thanks to reddit randomness 😎

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A--Creative-Username t1_j6l5gu9 wrote

Bomber pilots would close one eye during the explosion so that they could maintain "night vision". I use the same strategy if i need to pee at 3am

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rcm718 t1_j6mcrmf wrote

If it ends up being more than a pee, do you also say "bombs away"?

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