Our eyes continue to grow and change throughout life. There are several factors that influence their development.
Understanding our eyes and how they grow can provide us with insights into our eye health and the broader aging process.
Keep reading to learn the science behind eye growth, debunk some myths, and understand the factors that contribute to changes in eye size over time.
When we’re born, our eyes are about two-thirds smaller than they will be when we reach adulthood.
Our eyes grow throughout our lifetime, especially during the first 2 years of our life and during puberty. For the rest of our lives, our eyes continue to undergo different changes.
Babies are born with eyes about 16.5 millimeters in length. People’s eyes stop growing in length by the age of 20 or 21 when they reach about 24 millimeters.
The weight of the eyes’ lenses continues to increase over time. Scientists say that eyes grow rapidly after birth. Within a few months, the growth becomes linear and the lenses grow at a weight of
Eyes stop growing in length when a person reaches around age 20 or 21. The weight of the eyes continues to increase throughout a person’s lifetime.
Turns out, our eyes aren’t only smaller when we’re born, they’re also less useful. We develop our ability to move, focus, and use our eyes over time.
When a human embryo begins to form, it doesn’t have eyes. The major development of the eyes occurs between weeks 3 and 10. By a fetus’ third week, the brain starts developing the eyes’ inner workings of being able to see and process images.
It’s common for babies’ eyes to develop unevenly and is rarely a cause for concern. Vision is the last sense a fetus develops and its eyelids remain closed until 28 weeks. After 28 weeks, a fetus can sense sunlight.
After birth, a baby experiences the world through their eyes mostly as a blur of visual stimuli. Some babies’ eye color starts to change in their first months of life, as many are born with gray or blue eyes that change color.
Babies are nearsighted and focus primarily on objects between 8 and 10 inches from their faces. That’s about the distance of a baby’s face to a person who may be holding them.
During the first few months of life, a baby’s eyes begin to work together as hand-eye coordination develops. By 8 weeks, babies can more easily focus on faces around them. By 3 months, babies should begin following moving objects and people with their eyes.
By 5 months, a baby has developed color vision and some depth perception. Between 1 and 2 years of age, a child’s hand-eye coordination and depth perception are more developed. Colors and images appear bright and vivid.
Most people have a blind spot in their eyes and that’s completely normal.
The eyes continue to grow, going through an extra growth spurt during puberty.
Your eyes will reach their adult size by the time you reach age 19. By then, most people display signs of any eye abnormalities or genetic diseases of the eyes.
Some common conditions include:
Our eyes continue to change as we age, especially after age 40. Around this time, our eyes start to lose their ability to focus. This is referred to as presbyopia, and some people experience a greater loss of focus than others.
As we age, our eyes also tend to dry out and tear up excessively. Most age-related eye conditions can be corrected by wearing glasses or contact lenses.
The risk of developing eye and vision problems continues to increase over time. This is especially true if you have chronic health issues or medical conditions, a family history of eye disease, or an occupation that’s visually demanding or can damage your eyes.
You may be experiencing vision issues if:
- your vision changes or is inconsistent
- you experience an increased number of floaters or flashes in the eyes
- you have a loss of vision or notice your sight forms distorted images
After age 60, many experience deteriorating eye health and vision issues, such as:
Throughout life, it’s important to take good care of your eyes. You can do this by maintaining a nutritious diet and exercising regularly — maintaining your overall health may even improve your eyesight.
While babies’ eyes are developed at birth, it takes up to 2 years for eyesight to fully develop. Your eyes grow rapidly after birth and again during puberty until age 20 or 21 when they stop growing in size.
Your eyes continue to increase in weight throughout your lifetime and undergo other age-related changes. Staying healthy and getting yearly eye exams can help minimize any age-related conditions affecting your eyesight.
