Human eyes take an hour to fully reset

Human vision relies on two distinct types of light-sensing cells. Cones handle the vibrant colors of the day, while rods are so sensitive they can detect a single photon of light. However, this extreme sensitivity comes with a biological cost. When exposed to bright light, the light-sensitive molecules in your rods, known as rhodopsin, undergo a process called bleaching. The molecule literally breaks apart into two separate compounds, opsin and retinal, rendering the cell temporarily blind.