Simulation of what would happen if you didn't blink for six days called 'nightmare fuel'

You blink hundreds of thousands of times a day without even noticing, but if you stopped, you could be blind in hours.

That's the horror that one insightful, yet terrifying YouTube video shows - how stopping the simple act of blinking can become a matter of life and death.

The video pointed out that we blink between 900 to 1200 times per hour, which totals around 14,400 and 19,200 times in a day.

Starting it off light, the video compares the first minute of not blinking to a staring contest.

However, that harmless game you've played at least once in your life becomes a bit darker when you find out what happens behind the scenes.

The thin layer of moisture in your eye begins to evaporate, drying out your eyeballs, causing some slight pain and discomfort.

Blinking keeps the cornea of your eyes hydrated / Hans Neleman/Getty

'If you thought dehydration of your general body was bad, it's even worse with your eyes,' the viral video explained.

Onto 15 minutes of not blinking is when your eyes are 'nearly completely dry.' This causes them to swell in your eye socket, blurry vision incurs and can cause an 'intolerable pain.' This pain is your brain trying to get your attention to blink.

Even surpassing the Guinness World Record for not blinking at 90 minutes doesn't result in victory as you may not be around to see the rest. Near the two-hour mark, the protective tissue layer of your cornea begins to deteriorate and could soon lead to serious vision loss.

By the third day of not blinking, 'you no longer feel the horrible pain from your eyes, the bad news is you don't feel any pain because your eyes are dying.'

Vision loss at this point is permanent. Even if you begin blinking and washing the debris out of your eyeballs. Dehydrated tissues within the eye have died.

Even worse, bacteria have begun to eat the dead tissues.

Six days is the worst.

The simulation shows what happens if you don't blink for six days / The Infographics Show/YouTube

According to the simulation: 'Vision loss is now permanent and probably total.

'Bacterial infections have rampaged out of control and even penetrated into the deeper layers of the eye. And the tissues have been completely desiccated.'

Besides being permanently blind, you've also invited the built-up bacteria to infect the rest of your body.

'Given the proximity to your brain, the only way to survive your infection at this point is to completely remove the eyes, stopping the infection from getting deeper skull.'

The video concludes with grim irony: 'With no eyes though, you at least finally have a reason not to blink anymore.'

Consciously blinking throughout the video, viewers are struck by the unsettling consequences.

One viewer called the simulation 'pure nightmare fuel' and said they found themselves 'blinking more than usual while watching it.'

Another social media user remarked: 'Well that was eye opening,' and another wrote: 'As someone who is unnecessarily sensitive around my eyes, This video made me cry.'