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Blue Eyes? We are related and sensitive!

20070127-Photo 7

So I have blue eyes. And according to an article in USA Today, I am related to every other blue eyed person on the planet.

Researchers in Denmark have found that every person with blue eyes descends from just one “founder,” an ancestor whose genes mutated 6,000 to 10,000 years ago. Before then, everyone had brown eyes.

Well this doesn’t come as a surprise. We are all related to one another anyway.

Something I hadn’t considered before was that my need for sunglasses in daylight is actually because I have blue eyes. It came up in conversation the other day. People that know me well, have seen me cringe and hide my face if I walk out the door on a bright day without my sunglasses. People that have been in my apartment know that I keep it dark and only turn on the lights if really needed. “It’s so bright!” is a common phrase that comes from my mouth. Sometimes I wear sunglasses when I’m driving at night because the lights from oncoming traffic bothers me a great deal. If I was stranded on a deserted island and could only have one item of choice, it would be a tough decision between sunglasses and shoes (the shoes thing is a whole other deal).

I’ve noticed that I have premature wrinkles around my eyes and I am willing to bet it’s because I squint too much and I squint too much because “it’s so bright!”

I wonder if this ultra-sensitivity to the light helps me to be a better photographer?

I did a 20 minute google search to find out if my hypothesis was true, but it yielded no scientific studies to back me up; nor did I find any studies to contradict me. However, I did find a tons of anecdotal evidence that suggests people with blue eyes are more sensitive to the light. What do you think? What color are your eyes and do you have light sensitivity issues or know people that do?

Here’s a link to the wikipedia article on Eye Color for further reading.

Posted on Sunday, May 11th, 2008 at 6:44 pm. Filed under: Uncategorized Tags: , RSS 2.0 feed.

  • http://www.angelaboration.com Angela

    Well that’s clearly flawed logic. If one person’s eye color mutated, then other people’s eye colors could’ve mutated as well. Meaning that there’s no way all blue eyed people come from a common ancestor.

    Besides, other eye colors (like green and violet) are still considered mutations, and are often NOT passed down at all (my brother has green eyes, and no one else that anyone can remember in the family tree has had them before… just blue and brown).

  • Angela Gray

    Of course, you and I know we are related, but that article is very interesting. Another thing I read one time is that a man and woman who are both blue eyed can only have blue eyed children- there is no other possibility. And apparently that is the only parent combination that is absolutely predictable. I think things like that are interesting. And I always have to have my sunglasses outside too :)

  • djd

    OMG!! that pic kinda freaks me out!!

  • http://www.kbgoestojapan.blogspot.com KB

    I found your site after doing a similar search myself. I was trying to find scientific evidence to back up my claim that my eyes – yes they are blue – are more sensitive than those of the Japanese.

    I’ve been in Japan for nearly a year now and have always gotten comments about my sunglasses. I MUST have them: the light here seems so strong for me and my eyes start watering if I try to go outside without them.

    I work as an assistant language teacher at a fairly conservative rural school, though, and have been told on numerous occasions to please not wear my sunglasses when we’re outside because “stylish items” are not permitted (strict clothing rules). I’ve done my best, but just can’t go without them!! The squinting, the headaches, the watery eyes, it’s just terrible, and all my superiors think I’m just trying to be a “trendy American” and keep my shades…

    ..so, I started searching for proof. The best I found was the following, which actually was pretty interesting:

    news.softpedia.com/news/Blue-Eyes-for-the-Winter-Light-Brown-for-the-Summer-49528.shtml

    I wish you the best of luck with your light battle (I, too, have grown up with parents complaining: “turn on those lights or you’ll ruin your eyes in the dark!”). I think now I can say, I’ll go blind if folks continue to try to force me into the light. :)

  • http://www.kbgoestojapan.blogspot.com KB

    by the way, what camera do you use? my D40 is my baby and while i doubt my blue eyes help with my photography skills any, having a natural light sensitivity is interesting to think about…

  • Chip

    My interest in blue eyes and light sensitivity came a number of years ago, when I went to a doctor and she commented on the color of my eyes (they’re very light blue). She said, “Oh you must be very light sensitive.” Which I am.

    Generally I prefer dark cloudy days to bright sunny ones, and I also usually prefer winter over summer. I do believe that blue eyes is a mutation that came from a common ancestor. While there was probably some sexual selective reason for the spread of blue eyes, there may have also been a functional one as well. Several years ago I wrote “Ask a Geneticist” and they explained that blue eyes might have an advantage of better sight in low light areas (such as the north) along with other advantages. The answer to my question is posted here (the answer was given long before the article on a common ancestor): www.thetech.org/genetics/ask.php?id=160

    I suspect that the common ancestor (or the mutation) came from the north, since the distribution of blue eyes (and blonde hair) is largely contained in the northern countries of Europe (see: www.gnxp.com/blog/2006/03/blonde-hair-blue-eyes.php and cogweb.ucla.edu/ep/Frost_06.html) and rapidly declines as you go south. It exists in other countries in the south, but that could be the result of the mass migrations of people throughout the ages who settled in the south.

    While I do believe that blue eyed people are more light sensitive, there is really no specific scientific data to support it that I can find.

  • Gale Warren

    I have always been light sensitive and have worn sunglasses at night. People ask why I wear them on gray days (not rainy) and I say it is because of the glare. Forget sunny days with snow on the ground.
    I HAVE asked a doctor, though many years ago, and he confirmed that blue eyes are more sensitive to light because they are more transparent. Makes sense to me.

  • Lauren

    Everything you described is exactly what I go through. For as long as I can remember, I’ve always worn sunglasses & a ball cap to protect my sensitive eyes (which are indeed blue). Sometimes at work, the light gets to be too much with the lights inside plus the sun & glare bouncing inside. I also have great problems with waking up in the dark & adjusting to turning on a light–it takes forever! I remedied this by using a timer on my nightstand lamp so it comes on before I awaken. I’ve also found that my eyes are incredibly good with seeing in the dark. I’m thinking of looking into getting some light-color tinted sunglasses to wear indoors when I can’t take the brightness.

  • Taia Gray

    I have blue eyes and just like you I keep the house dark and never leave the house without sunglasses. I have even had bulbs removed from above my desk because it was too bright to function properly. I was also having horrible head and nech aches before the bulbs were removed. I am now looking for research to back this up because my boss wants to have all of the lights above my desk lit.

  • Samantha

    I have never found lighter eyes to be more sensitive, at least not more sensitive than me. I used to walk out of school and just be totally unable to see because I couldn’t open my eyes to the brightness. No one else around me would be having a problem with the brightness, and I was in the south, surrounded by blue eyed peeps. I have the darkest brown eye color possible and right now the light coming in through the blinds and the light from the computer is killing me. I’ll trade my eyes for any of you blue-eyed peoples!

  • http://www.kendrickdisch.com kendrick

    Thanks for sharing your comments! It’s helpful to know that I’m not the only light sensitive guy out there. I like my blues and I wouldn’t really want to trade them, but if it weren’t for sunglasses I would definitely be in trouble!

  • MY_EYE
  • Steve

    Yep. I have blue eyes and my eyes are VERY sensitive to light. Dawn is a pretty bad time for my eyes. Fluro lights are an absolute NIGHTMARE, it always makes me think “This is what the public wants? Blinding light?”

  • Malchome

    Eye color and offspring.

    There are 3 eye color types. Brown, Green, Blue.

    Brown dominates Green and Blue, Green dominates Blue.

    Each parent has 2 genes for eye color and give 1 each to offspring.

    Brown eyed Parent may be Br/Br, Br/G, or Br/Bl

    Green eyed Parent may be Gr/Gr, or Gr/Bl

    Blue eyed Parent is Bl/Bl

    Blue and Green genes can be passed down multiple generations and still not be expressed because of the dominance rules.

  • Becca G.

    My eyes are blue, but they are almost a clear color they are so light. I have a huge problem with light sensitivity. My husband and I fight a lot because he likes light and I always want it dark when we watch TV or whatever else. I have to wear sunglasses anytime i am outside. My dad is half Mexican and my mom is Irish. Another problem I have is it has to be total dark for me to sleep. Even lights from the alarm clock will keep me awake. It actually sucks cuz its almost impossible for me to sleep during the day, and and I work overnight.  I have had to sun-proof my room lol

  • Tabbikat86

    I have very light and bright blue eyes.  I have been extremely sensitive to light my whole life.  As a child, I can remember my parents having to hold my hands as I walk out of a store…because it would be so bright that I could not bear to open my eyes.  Blue eyes are definitely more sensitive to light.

  • ChuckGG

    I cannot speak to other eye colors, but for me, being blue-eyed, I am very sensitive to bright light.  I had my eye doctor test this and he confirmed it.  I, too, like slightly overcast days as it is much easier on my eyes.  I recall exiting a Saturday matinee movie into extremely bright sunlight.  It was so painful, I had to go back into building.  My eyes were watering.

    I wear a good pair of sunglasses and that helps a lot.  I also seem to be very sensitive to glare and bright back-lighting. I worked in the Middle East for a few years and there is lots of sand and white marble that would reflect a lot of light.  I would wear very dark, wrap-around or large sunglasses, in order to deal with it.

    I have heard similar reports from other blue-eyed people.

  • Catherine

    I’ve stumbled across this website looking for answers as to why my eyes are so sensitive to light, despite being in good health, and with no other obvious eye or vision conditions.  I am blue-eyed and have always been sensitive to bright light.  I am always the one squinting in photos especially taken outdoors, and this has been right since childhood.  My husband (also blue-eyed) and I have 2 blue-eyed children, who seems have inherited our sensitivity to light.  My daughter prefers to have the curtains slightly drawn during the day.  Living in Australia, which has a sunnier climate compared with more northern European countries where blue eyes are more common, would seem to make my problem more noticeable. 

  • hannah

    i also have blue eyes, and am extremely sensitive to light, but i hate sun glasses and hats because they limit my field of vision.

  • HM

    I am also blue-eyed and light-sensitive, but I learned this year that there’s another reason that I’m light sensitive, which I thought I’d share.

    Apparently, according to my optometrist, my pupils dilate a bit differently than average: they can’t contract as small, but they can expand a bit larger. So given the same amount of light, my world is a bit brighter than the average person’s, because my pupils aren’t contracting as much as theirs are at the time. So I prefer dimmer light than everyone else for reading, getting around, etc. I’m great in movie theaters — everyone has me go first, since I can see fine while their eyes are still adjusting.

    When I go in for my regular eye exam, if it involves pupil dilation, my optometrist doesn’t need to use the dilation drops — she just dims the light, and mine dilate large enough on their own for her to examine the back of my eyes just fine.

    Anyway…thought I’d share. :-) Maybe there are more people out there with this oddity!

  • Jennifer

    I can relate to this topic. I have very deep blue eyes. When I meet a person, that’s always the first thing they mention, is my eye color. Most people think they’re contacts, but they’re real. I am very, very, very sensitive to sunlight. There have been times when I stepped out of a building and the light literally felt like it set my eyes on fire. One time I actually had to go back into the building and stand with my eyes close for about 10 minutes before I could even open them again. It’s horrible, and can be very painful when you get an eye full of light without sunglasses. I might have beautiful eyes, but it comes at a cost. There have been times I couldn’t participate in things because it was too sunny or because I didn’t have sunglasses. Some people claim blue eyes are not more sensitive, I beg to differ.

  • Jeff Jones

    Bright light makes my eyes ache as well. However my retina has virtually no pigment which is probably why I have this difficulty. You can see the choroid plexus practically back to my brain. In this link you see the dissected eye of a calf. The black portion is the pigmented retinal epithelium which helps protect from excess light exposure. In my eyes this is clear and you can see the underlying blood vessels.