Eli5: Why does being exposed to bright light cause your eyes to physically hurt/ache, especially after coming from a lower light area?
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Sudden increase in light hitting your retina is like a rush of nerve stimulation that your body interprets at pain. So the brain automatically constricts your pupil within a matter of second to minimize this. Probably some kind of evolutionary advantage to preventing light induced retinal damage, but don’t have a source for that.
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