What compels us to instinctively close them?
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We feel more comfortable if a dead person looks like they are sleeping, because we are used to seeing people asleep. That’s also why we use words like ‘laid to rest’ to describe burial. Closing their eyes is a big part of this. Also, a persons eyes are normally very responsive, so a face with eyes that don’t respond is particularly upsetting, and it is easier to see the person with closed eyelids. In my experience, it’s also a gesture of caring that helps the person with them when the die to feel that they have ‘helped’ in some way. In practical terms, it is also important that the body is ‘tidied up’ before rigor mortis sets in and the tissues stiffen, which is one reason why a nurse or other attendant will do this straight away.
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