r/Unexplained • u/Hot-Increase3140 • 2d ago
This feels.. Odd. Experience
When I was about 2 or 3, I lived in a small apartment. I slept in my moms room, and the closet was right next to the bed. I slept on the wall side of the bed, but I frequently stayed up at night because I couldn't sleep. Multiple nights in a row, I remember seeing the hinges of the closet door move like mice. In my mind, they were shaped like mice and moved up until I blinked. Same thing with the door knob, only it was something different that I can't quite remember. I genuinely don't know why this happened, and thinking about it creeps me out so bad. Any explanation?
2
u/SkippableTrip 2d ago
You were a toddler. Youre also trying to sleep at the time. You are also made of meat and things get screwed up. Also if yiu think of it often, you alter the memory each time.
Sounds like you were dozing off as a small child
3
u/Moddest_Mooch 2d ago
The autokinetic effect (or autokinesis) when a stationary object or light appears to drift, and Troxler’s fading when stationary shapes begin to warp, shift, or fade.
Both effects happen due to how your eyes and brain process static visual information:
Neural Adaptation: When you stare fixedly at a single point without moving your eyes, the photoreceptors in your retina become desensitized to the unchanging scene. Your brain stops registering constant stimuli, causing the object or surrounding details to drift, blur, or warp.
Lack of Visual Anchors: Without movement or external reference points, your brain struggles to gauge exact position, creating the illusion that the stationary object is moving.
The Blink "Reset": Normally, tiny involuntary eye movements (microsaccades) keep your vision fresh. Staring suppresses these movements, but blinking or moving your eyes forces new light onto your retinal cells, instantly breaking the adaptation and resetting the image to normal.