Brown Eyes: Health Benefits and 3 Special Things About It!

You could feel like another face in the crowd if you have brown eyes because most people have them. It is the most common eye color in the world, with 70–80% of people having them. Having brown eyes is common in Asia and Africa. 

It is different in Europe. For example, eyes tend to be lighter in Northern Europe than in the South. In the United States, people with brown eyes make up 41% of the population.

Are all brown eyes the same?

It is a little different than you might think. There are many shades of brown eyes, from light caramel-brown to almost black. Most browns in the US and Europe are lighter shades, while most browns in Asia and Africa are darker.

What makes eyes brown?

The amount of melanin in your body also determines the color of your skin, hair, and eyes. Melanin is in the circle-shaped “colored part” of the eye called the iris, which gives color to your eyes. The eyes will look darker if the body makes more melanin.

Since melanin is a brown pigment, technically, all eyes are brown. Some eyes are lighter than others because they have less melanin. Brown eyes, on the other hand, have more melanin.

When light hits the iris of eyes with less melanin, it splits into different colors along the spectrum (known as Rayleigh scattering).

How much melanin you have depends on your genes. Scientists have found 16 different genes that have something to do with how our eyes look. One of the most important is OCA2, which controls how much melanin is made. This gene is “turned off” in people with lighter eyes because they have a mutation.

What good things do brown eyes do for your health?

Some diseases may be less likely to hurt people with brown eyes. Cancer of the eye, called ocular melanoma, is less likely to happen to people with brown eyes than those with lighter eyes.

Brown-eyed people are also less likely to get Type 1 Diabetes.

Contacts let you change the color of your eyes.

Even if your eye color is inherited, you are not required to maintain it. For decades, Hollywood performers have used colored contacts to alter the color of their eyes.

There are many different colors of colored contacts, which makes them a good choice for people who want to try out new looks. If you want some, you may need a prescription from your eye doctor.

Cataracts are common.

Cataracts happen when the eye’s lens gets cloudy, making it hard to see. Ironically, because brown eyes have more pigment, they are more likely to get cataracts than blue eyes. Because of this pigment, they can take in more UV light. When UV light hits the proteins in the lens, it can cause them to clump together and make the lens cloudy.

Macular degeneration is less likely to happen.

Because they have more melanin, brown eyes are less likely to get sick. It also helps fix damage to the DNA and keeps the eyes moist. 

There are different shades of color.

If you have brown eyes, they are probably a different shade than your family members. There are many different shades of brown, from honey-colored to black. 

Other animals have brown eyes.

Surprisingly, brown eyes are not only found in humans. Cats, dogs, horses, chickens, ducks, and pigs are just some of the animals with this eye color.

Can a child with brown eyes be born to a parent with blue eyes?

Brown eyes are genetically dominant, which means that most of the time, a baby born to two people with brown eyes will also have brown eyes. 

Likewise, two parents with brown eyes can have a child with blue eyes, though this is uncommon.

But if both parents have a recessive blue-eye gene, their child could have blue eyes. Even though it is rare, two people with blue eyes can have a child with brown eyes.

Genes.

The amount and type of melanin in the iris determines the color of our eyes. How much and what kind of melanin you have depends on your family history, what you eat, and how much sunlight exposure you get.

Fast Reflexes

Researchers at the University of Louisville found a possible link between the color of your eyes and how well you do in sports.

People with brown eyes did better than people with lighter eyes in fast-paced sports like football and hockey.

Less trouble with hearing.

The National Library of Medicine says that the color of your eyes can make you more likely to lose hearing. Melanin can keep nerves from being hurt by noise. People with brown eyes have more melanin, which makes them less sensitive to loud sounds.

Brown eyes are less likely to get damaged by the sun.

The darker your eyes, the less likely you are to get sun damage than people with lighter eyes. More melanin means darker eyes. Melanin is your skin and eyes’ natural defense against UV damage. 

Eye doctors say that brown-eyed people have more melanin in their eyes than blue-eyed people. People with brown eyes are capable of keeping the sun from harming their eyes. However, even if you have this eye color, you still need to wear sunglasses for more protection.

What is so special about brown eyes?

1. They are the most common color of the eyes.
2. They come in many different colors.
3. They are unique.

Conclusion

Why do brown eyes stand out so much? They come in many different shades and are the world’s most common color of eyes. Melanin is the substance that gives brown eyes their color.

When you go outside in the sun, your body makes the pigment melanin. People with are less likely to get eye problems or age-related macular degeneration. Getting cataracts is more likely if exposed to UV light. Wear sunglasses that block UV-A and UV-B rays to protect your eyes from harm.

More than half of the world’s population has brown eyes. If you think this number is significant, think about this: all humans used to have brown eyes, but a genetic change in an ancestor led to blue, green, and hazel eyes. Because of this change, the planet has many different colors of eyes.

People who live in warmer places are much more likely to have brown eyes because the brown color of the iris, which is caused by too much melanin, protects the eyes from the sun. Since warmer places tend to get more sunlight, people who live near the equator are more likely to have brown eyes.

On the other hand, eyes that are blue, green, or hazel are caused by less melanin in the iris. People who live in colder places are more likely to have this trait because they may not get as much sun.

Even if you have brown eyes, you should still see your eye doctor for a regular eye exam to ensure your eyes are healthy and your vision is good.

Want to keep your eyes protected for years, no matter what color they are? Make an appointment with Dr. Jeffrey Porter or Dr. Will Watson, eye doctors at the Walmart Vision Center Crystal Lake, Illinois and Walmart Vision Center Harvard, Illinois. 

We provide quality eye care in Crystal Lake, Woodstock, Harvard, Illinois and surrounding communities. 

Call us:

Walmart Vision Center Crystal Lake, IL

815-477-4053

Walmart Vision Center Harvard, IL

815-943-4331