Relationship Between Color and Sight

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Introduction

Eyes see color every day, but can sight be different for people with different iris colors?

Does a person’s iris color affect their vision in low light? The three primary colors red, yellow, and blue have significant qualities. The color yellow is the first color the human eye can detect, due to it being attention grabbing, but it is nearly invisible next to white. Humans can see red the clearest due to it standing out and differentiating from the rest. Blue is connected to sadness and mourning.

Color is perceived by the human eye and brain together by translating light into color. Light receptors within the eye transmit messages to the brain, which produces the familiar sensations of color. The retinas in the eyes have receptors for color called cones, iris color is actually the result of the amount or density of pigment cells in the iris. Pigment cells, called melanocytes, produce the pigment known as melanin. The amount and density of the melanin determines what colors of light are absorbed and what is reflected. In retrospect, the higher the concentration of melanin in the iris, the darker the iris color.

The color of the iris does not affect visual accuracy or the sharpness of a person’s vision. But, the amount of pigment can affect visual “comfort” in certain situations. For example, people with blue or light-green eyes may be more sensitive or experience more visual discomfort in bright sunny conditions than people with brown-colored eyes. This is because the higher concentration of melanocytes in the darker iris acts as a sun shade. Light-colored eyes don’t have such an indulgence.

Light colored irises may be associated with higher risks for certain eye problems. Since there is less of a filtering effec...

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