I think they explained it in another video... that cones are placed to detect mostly light coming from the front, while rods are mostly placed on the sides of the retina, so they're better at detecting light that comes from your peripheral vision. So if you're in a bright, well-lit area, if you want to see an object just look at it directly. But if you're in the dark, to see an object more clearly it's better *not* to look at it directly ;)
Catp0w3r this is because of the macula lutea, located at the center of the retina, which contains less rods, which you need to be able to see at low light levels
This is actually exactly what happens. It has to do with our rods and cones. Our cones, which as Michael explained give us our color vision, whereas our rods help us see shades of grey. In the world of optometry we say our cones are used in photopic conditions (light) and rods in scotopic conditions (dark). So when we are seeing in the dark we are using our rods, primarily. The reason why you can see something better in the dark when you look off to the side is because of the way the rods and cones are arrange on our retina. The cones are heavily concentrated at the macula, which is responsible for our central vision, whereas the rods are most heavily concentrated in the peripheral retina which is responsible for our peripheral vision. That's why it is easier to see something off to the side, because you are using a peripheral point on your retina where there are more rods to view the image as opposed to your macula.
Rods see in the dark better then cones, there are more cones in the center of the eye, and more rods the farther you go outside of the center of your eye, because of this, you also cant see color all the way in the edge of your eye.
Let me tell you that I had excruciating neck fracture pain go away while reading the bible out loud one day. My bones, joints and whole body felt very much stronger too. So never forget your day bible reading/ speaking it for a few minutes or more. If it can heal necks I believe it can heal anything. Pray every day in Jesus' name and always Tithe faithfully. I've been healed through my Tithing many many times also.
As a person with night blindness and severe visual impairment, I really enjoyed this video. May you please make a video on other types of visual impairments such as RP, LCA, and color blindness? Walking around with a cane your entire life makes you get some pretty weird questions with the lack of awareness. Thanks!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'm nearsighted, and the worse my vision has gotten (I'm currently at -3.25 in both eyes), the worse my nightblindness gets. I typically don't use a nightlight because it gets too bright for me to sleep at night, so I've just learned how to navigate my room and house in the blind. The really annoying part, though, is that nearsightedness often brings light sensitivity with it, too, so I get blinded easily. I can't go outside without my sunglasses when it's sunny, but only during the summers. The soft nordic winter sun doesn't bother me. Thanks for this video, it helps me understand my shitty vision a bit better!
I have night blindness, and you only explained half of it. And to be honest, only half an explanation is a rather poor explanation. The kind of night blindness I, my mother and her mother also have,(genetic) Isn't this, But, the problem is the exact opposite of what you say. I see too much light at night, my eyes wont adjust correctly. My vision if flooded with giant glowing orbs (street lights and car light), all i can see are giant floating lights. For example, I can't see the street that the street light is lighting up, all i can see if the actual light. The road and everything around it is covered in sort of visual haze. This problem is just as bad during raining days too. My eye doctor told me i have night blindness, and that is *not* what you described here. I later found out that the term 'night blindness' can be a generic term thrown around for any visual problems at night. What bothers me is that, I rarely question the information i get from this channel, and there have been a few episodes where the info is straight out bunk, BS, not well researched... And this looks like one of those episodes. Its a real disappointment to me, to see something with so much potential for educating people,.. to then spread info that is at best, only half true. I now feel like i have to question everything i have ever learned from this channel. Edit - to clear up something, I'm not saying that this video is full of lies, (except that suggesting Vit. A can help restore vision.. it only helps keep good vision healthy, anyone can google this.) , I'm saying that it's only half of the truth. It's like seeing math done with only even numbers and pretending like the odd numbers don't exist. Math done with only even numbers still works, you don't *have* to have odd numbers to do math, But they are rather important. That's how i feel about this, they ignored half of the problem. and it happened to me my own type of night blindness. so it strikes a personal cord with me. Edit 2 - news.vanderbilt.edu/2013/10/night-blindness/ This link has a picture of what my type of night blindness looks like, It's not exact, the effect is very similar, Just more extreme. Imagine the glare from the lights in that picture, encompassing at least 2x more of your visual field.
Probably just not enough people on Subbable, so they can't use as much internet as normal to check their facts. Or perhaps this whole channel is 75% clickbait. Probably the latter.
I wonder if the doctor knew what he/she was talking about. However, as I believe others have already pointed out to other people on other videos, this channel is not intended to give the insanely complex truths that sometimes things turn out to be... ok, that was badly worded, but some things are very complicated and Scishow generally chooses to avoid the kind of scrupulous accuracy in those cases which leads to becoming a very technical channel. From the backgrounds, intros, etc, I think there is support that being a technical channel is not a thing those on Scishow want.
Nimiety327 What they described was where your eye cannot pick up enough light so in conditions where there is a lack of light, like at night, you can't see because of it's low light levels compared to at day. What you're describing, I think, sounds like a much more complex version of it. Like he said, and you, "night blindness" is just a term to a general symptom. It's like neurological pain for example, which is what I have. It's just a general description of a symptom but doesn't really tell you what you actually have or what is causing it. I think your doctor may've used that term in a different sense, or maybe even incorrectly, than what they used here. Either way sorry about man, I have vision problems too but not that extensive.
"Carrots are good for your eyes" brings up two things for me: impaling your eyes with carrots (ASDFmovie reference) and asking if they can dial a phone (Ed, Edd, 'n' Eddy reference).
Whats weird is for me I feel like my eye sight is sharper and more clear at night then the day. Maybe it's because I'm more relaxed and use to night time then most since I am a night owl. Thus eye feel less strain, but even so find it odd.
I have a mild case of being easily blinded in the dark and seeing stars and halos around the lights. It's probably due to my strong shortsightedness (about like -7.5 to -8 on the right only minimal better on the left.) Funny thing, when I had a doctor's appointment and he looked into my eyes, I got these drops so my pupils are dilated for the examinaton and afterwards this effect was double so bad than it is without the drops. So I saw how it could be worse. As it is, I'm happy I got my drivers license and I just avoid driving in the dark. Especially since I don't have much experience yet.
I'm a night owl, I'm not afraid of the dark at all, but somehow I can't see clearly. This always causes me trouble because I couldn't see. In camps I had to use two flashlights along with my friends' hands.
Could you guys do an episode on Visual snow? I'm not sure if you know more than what google can tell me about it, but it's a rather annoying condition to have. For those who don't know, people who have visual snow constantly, 24/7, see everything in their field of vision covered by a field of what can be best described as static on a TV, though transparent enough to see objects through it. It's very apparent in the dark.
I agree with you because I think i have it. I have always thought of it being normal, but now that you mention that it isn't normal, I feel curious about it and want to learn more, understand more, and accept it.
I can see very well in low light conditions and frankly I feel more like myself when I can't see. Darkness for me is calming and light frankly annoys me if it doesn't come from a screen except low levels of sunlight. Artificial lights when its dark outside and i'm not using it to focus on work annoys me too the point i get headaches and eventually hand tremors. i also prefer to read in low light conditions because the light distracts me and its easier to focus on what i'm reading ,because my eyes adjust to low light conditions very quickly.
As a person with mild nearsightedness (enough to be legally obligated to wear glasses while driving but not enough to wear them for most tasks), I have noticed that it's much harder at night to make out things or focus my vision without my glasses.
I get what I call day blindness, from about 10 to around 4. During these hours there is a hazy fuzz around objects and I have a hard time focusing on distant objects. At night and low light conditions, My vision is sharp and I can judge distances very well.
I have a similar thing going on. If I'm in very bright areas, such as midday anywhere where the ground is a light (fresh grass, cream-colored concrete, etc.), my eyes can never adjust all the way so I can't stop squinting. On the other hand, if I allow sufficient time for my eyes to adjust, I can see in very dark conditions such as in the woods on starless nights (I did learn the hard way that I can't judge vertical distances as well as I thought like this though). If I'm walking with someone else though they'll inevitably turn on a flashlight, my eyes adjust to that, and the surrounding area seems pitch black because of the contrast.
Im just wondering, what color eyes do you guys have? I know it seems pretty arbitrary, but lightly-shaded irises, like blue ones, can take a lot longer to dilate than darker ones. This seems like an extreme version of that, so maybe theres a link?
That is interesting, you nearly described my kind of night blindness (that wasn't mentioned in this vid) Except for me its, any light source during the night. I get that same haze and fuzz you're talking about, but with a big shinny orbs to go along with it. In low light conditions at night, my vision is *much* better than on a well lit street. It sounds like we have something similar but not the same, I'm curious, Do you also have an condition called Nystagmus? AKA Dancing Eyes. I have it, If you also do.. there might be a connection there. Edit - oh and for +theuglyzone My eyes are hazel
I have night blindness in my right eye, and it can get pretty annoying after a period of tine. I was always wondering what caused my eye to do this in the dark, I'm glad I finally found out why.
I have the same problem because I nearly went blind in that eye when I was younger. My right eye still isn’t entirely functional, but I’m nowhere close to blind now.
I experienced temporary night-blindness and a permanent reduction in my night vision due to taking Accutane (isotretinoin) for acne. And that is a high dose of what is essentially vitamin A. too much of a good thing can be harmful as well (but I don't regret it. I had really bad, painful acne)
@LH20027 it kicked in a few weeks into treatment, lasted several months after finishing the 6 month course. I think I'm pretty much back to normal. And my skin is still clearer than before I started. Wins all around!
I remember I had night blindness while I was locked up in a Soviet gulag. Luckily I was able to escape. I had to travel all the way through Mongolia and Tibet to India! Boy was my feet tired!
I recall reading in a piloting manual that night blindness is also one of the first symptoms of oxygen starvation. Apparently the light sensitive cells of our retinas are the biggest oxygen consumers in our whole body. Every time a retina cell fires it uses up an oxygen atom, so if your blood isn't fully oxygenated your night vision will dim.
I'm nearsighted and have astigmatism in my left eye. If I close my right eye at night, I'm pretty close to being blind, but my right eye is fine. When I have both open it just sort of melds together into a dark but visible at the same time sort of deal.
The rhodopsin in the rods is broken down by bright light, when the bright light is absent it takes from 5 to 30 minutes in the dark for the rhodopsin to reach a level for producing good nerve signals. Color vision is on all the time, but useless in the dark as it is not as sensitive as adjusted night vision is. This explains why it is possible to detect dim colors (say, the red blinking lights of an airplane in the night sky), even when night vision is in use.
Could you maybe also do a video on hemeralopia (day blindness)? I have it partially (remedied by dark sunglasses) and it would be interesting to see what you have to say. Also maybe a video on achromatopsia (total lack of colour vision)? I just think it would be an interesting thing to make a video about :)
Lady Lilith1 I saw the optition and he said laser eye surgery can fix it but its not really worth it for me because i have really clear daytime vision but I can’t see in the centre of my vision at night
My brother recently got glasses to wear while driving at night. I thought he was weird at first, but then I tried them on, and they made such a difference. I never realized how much I couldn't see while driving at night.
Also a factor is poor vision in general... if you see things a little blurry, then at night, the struggle to focus on details becomes impossible because your eyes can't detect the edges of variations of light. I always wondered why my daughters were so afraid of the dark, then when they were older, I was driving them and my niece somewhere at night and my niece was telling me that she thought she needed glasses, so I told her to tell me when she could read the road signs as we were driving, turns out I had the best vision of them all, my niece had the worst, but my daughters were not much better than her. That made me think about the times we'd been camping and they couldn't see anything, but I could see well enough to set up a tent without using a light. A dark blur doesn't give your eyes any differences to adjust to
My question, and this is probably quite simple and/or has been done on SciShow before, is: What is/causes thunder (and why do dogs react to it so aggressively while other animals do not)?
I have great night vision but I can't really see in the dusk. Somehow everything is hard to make out when there are bright spots of light (lamps, break lights). So driving during the day, check, driving during the night, check. Driving durking dusk.. eeeh not so much.
I'm mildly nearsighted and moderately night blind. i can't drive at night and i typically use a nightlight in case i need to get up in the middle of the night. dim light is a bother too. i will get irritated in dim light because i have a hard time seeing. I'm best with bright overhead lighting at most times.
Because of this any brightness of headlights from oncoming traffic makes it impossible for me to see anything on the road at night. Darn it for being near sighted with outdated lenses =/
I did a quick search on this page, for beta-carotene and vitamin A, without actually reading the comments, but didn't find anything. It has always been my understanding that the foods mentioned here don't have vitamin A, but beta-carotene which is a precursor to vitamin A. You can get vitamin A from animals, like salmon, who have already processed it. Beta-carotene is transformed in the body to vitamin A--which, if taken too much in supplements, can have negative side effects.
I was really excited to watch this video, as I have Retinitis Pigmentosa and was hoping that this video would educate and inform those unaware of night blindness. Sadly, no. I would love to see another better-researched video on this topic, as this is very important for people to understand. Of course, night blindness is a symptom of Retinitis Pigmentosa, so I was not expecting a debrief on that specific disability, but your explanation of night blindness was mediocre, at best. Also, Vitamin A does not restore vision. It helps to maintain it. That is why I take Lutein pills and fish oil pills every day. Disappointed. I expected better.
I have night blindness only in my left eye, and as well as that, my left eye sees color differently to when my eyes are both open or just my right eye is open. I wear glasses all the time and have since I was 10. When I said to my optician about it they sent me to see my GP, who sent me to see a specialist, and he could find nothing wrong with my eyes aside from the +4.50 prescription I've had for over a decade. So the next step is to go to see a doctor at the eye and ear hospital in Dublin. I nearly wouldn't be so upset if it was in both eyes, but for it to manifest in one eye only is rare, or so the optician says.
I used to think it was kind of weird years ago when my mom said she had night blindness, and had trouble driving at night (because the other cars lights were so bright compared to the darkness, that it would literally blind her). Now I find that it happens to me too, although, I think its mostly cus the damn lights on cars now are brighter and brighter, AND idiots driving with their brights on 25/7. As the car approaches, at a certain point, bam, cant see squat until the car passes. It sucks, and its scary, especially when youre going 45 mph on a narrow road.
RikoLime First of all I would suggest that you get your eyes tested and check with the authorities or your optician whether you're safe to drive at night. Second, even if if you're technically OK to drive at night, but feel you are having difficulty seeing at night, you really should keep your speed to a level where you can see adequately, so you can drive safely. Failing that, you really should stop driving at night.
RikoLime Isn't that happening to all of us? No one can see in the dark when someone holds a light into your face. Try to concentrate on the road right in front of your car, and maybe close one eye so it isn't still blinded once the light has passed.
0MoTheG Thats much better, and I should clarify it only happens to me to the brightest of cars - ones you can clearly tell have their brights on. Most of the roads I use at night are quite dark - to and from work, down a narrow road that actually bridges a small city to an even smaller one. (Its actually really spooky.. it gets foggy, and theres no stores, street lights, and no one turns on their outdoor lights.. its like Im driving into Silent Hill, shit you not). TO answer some other things, I see my optician quite often, for other reasons (that and I love me some perfectly clean glasses). So theres nothing "wrong" with my eyes. Its just idiots and their brights.. which if you understand how brights work on cars, its actually at the PERFECT angle to BLIND other drivers.. unintentionally of course.
I feel like I have this. Right eye feels weird when the light turns off. It “feels blurry” if that makes sense. I see fine with both eyes in the night tho. It just feels weird and “numb”. That’s how I describe it. I also feel this most-if not all day, but really notice it gets worse as soon as the light turns off. Left eyes feels normal. Can anyone else relate? I’d love to know
Okay, now you can talk about light sensitivity, and why some people, especially people with light colored eyes, can get head aches or more while in bright light.
Here's a related question: Why is it harder to see black as we get older? I refer to, say, knitting with black yarn or sewing with black thread on black cloth.
There are a number of things that contribute to this problem, and like most age related problems it mostly comes down to your eyes components literally wearing out with age. The lenses become less flexible and the muscles around them weaken, making focusing (especially on details) harder. They become slightly clouded (even without the condition known as cataracts developing) which both diminishes the incoming light and blurs the image. The clouding can sometimes be slightly colored, which can contribute to a lack of ability to distinguish between subtle hue variations. You accumulate "floaters" in your vision, literally blood vessels whose ends have detached from the retina and are floating out into in the vitreous humor (the fluid in your eye). These cast shadows on the retina behind them which move subtly when you turn your head causing dark patches which can be hard to ignore when trying to focus on something.
There are many changes that happen naturally to our eyes as we age. Loss of contrast is one of them. There are actually a different set of values of normal contrast sensitivity for a 20 year old as there are for say a 60 year old. Probably one of the main contributing factors of this loss of contrast is the changes of the lens. As we age, our lens starts to yellow and this can cause one to perceive colors a bit differently. It isn't really enough to affect someone's day to day. But for those who pay close attention to something like sewing black thread on a black cloth, it would be more noticeable. The best way to help if you are experiencing this problem is to make sure you have the proper glasses prescription with the proper near add, and to have ample lighting. Most overhead lighting is not enough to help out in these situations, so we would usually recommend people use task lighting, such as a desk lamp to help with contrast issues.
There is more than one kind of night blindness. The kind I have makes me too sensitive light. When there are no oncoming vehicles I see normally but when there are the light over powers my vision. The lights produce huge bright halos and spikes of light. I cant see the lines in the road on the side the lights are on and can barely see them on the other side of the road. Even lit road signs make it difficult to see.
I have Retinitis Pigmentosa (RP), it is common to have night blindness with RP. I have had night blindness since birth... I see lights at night but nothing else... people just appear into the light.. it's creepy
Im night blind. My pupils are naturally wide so they let in more light than needed which makes things brighter or darker than normal. It can hurt during the day
My dad has night blindness. He had a tumor on his brain stem, since having it removed his pupils cannot dilate, making it impossible for him to see in low light
I failed to see any mention of other illnesses that cause night blindness, and there are several. For example retinitis pigmentosa is one of the major causes of night blindness, that cannot be corrected since it is a genetic disease.
Seriously though...does anyone else think of Ferris Bueller when you see Michael? I mean, if the movie was re-made today, this is exactly what Ferris would look like.
My mom’s friend is night blind so she tries to not drive at night. I remember going out of town with her and my mom and she couldn’t drive home because she couldn’t see. I am not sure what else is wrong with her eyes but not I am curious to as her next time I visit.
I know this is old and all, but carrots don't have vitamin A, they have b-caroten, you need another component to form vitamin A, those you can find on the green things he showed, so to have vitamin A you hava to eat all the things that were shown on the video, not only one.
i discovered that i might have night blindness when i tried to participate in a night-time game at a camp. i was baffled how other people were able to even walk around and i described my trouble to one of the leaders of the game after about an hour of stumbling around and he said it sounded like night blindness. but idk. idk about testing for it or what i should do about it. i'm coincidentally eating carrots right now.
Just FYI, as someone who is night blind, I didn't see this mentioned anywhere, but I also can't see nearly as many stars in the sky, even in optimal conditions (We found out I was actually night blind because my entire family and I went to a meteor shower and I saw exactly 0 meteors).
Funfact: all the mythological stuff about dusk, dawn and full moon probably comes from the fact that this twilight was used by humans to attack other humans, most notably the Germanic tribes vs the Roman soldiers. If they didn't create the werwulf myth, then they were the ones that carved it into stone.
Can glasses cause cataracts? Somehow my glasses were foggy since day one (humid summer) and every cleaning only smudges it, with or without solution. I wear them constantly. On occasions where I take them off, I see the smudges still imprinted on my vision. I'm nearsighted, by the way. They're definitely the result of glasses, but if they aren't cataracts, what are they?
I have excellent night vision. Can see well enough to get around walking the county side only with star light and no moon out. Yes thats in the country where these is no artificial lights about at night because thats where I live. When the moon is out I can see colour in all except the shadows and see almost as much detail as day. The funny thing is Im slightly near sighted but those effects of near slight only appear in moderate lighting, like over cast days or well lit indoor/outdoor with artificial lighting, driving at night with street lights and reflective signs. They are too bright in contrast to of the surroundings and over saturates my vision kinda like high beams in your face.
I was watching Seven Samurai recently. Some guy who was trying to sell rice was insisting his customers need to eat rice to stay healthy. If they continue to eat their cheaper 'millet' they would get night-blindness. Is there any truth to this?
I feel like I have low-lighting blindness or something. Like I can see just fine in the day or at night, but sometimes if I go into a dimly-lit restaurant or bar lit with mostly candles... My eyes freak out. Does anyone else notice this?
Thought of a question when watching this video and you mentioned vitamins. What actually are vitamins, and what is it about them that makes them good for us?
