Our eyes are incredible at adapting to different lighting conditions. This is done through the iris and pupil of the eye. Our pupils are the dark hole at the front of the eye which allows light to enter and form an image on the back portion of our eye. This pupil size is controlled by muscles found on the iris, which is the coloured portion surrounding the pupil. In bright sunlight, our pupils will begin to constrict, allowing less light to enter into the eye. On the other hand, when we are in a dark room our pupils will become bigger and increase the amount of light getting into the eye.

Once the light enters through our pupil, it hits the back of our eye called the retina. The retina has two types of photoreceptors called rods and cones. Rods are responsible for night time vision and cones are responsible for day time vision. When we are in a dark room, rods are the ones that let us see.

Dark adaptation

The reason you are momentarily blind in the dark when going from a well-lit room is because it takes some time for our eyes to adjust. This is referred to as dark adaptation. During this period, the rod receptors are the key players to fully adapt and return vision to normal.