How many times have you tried swatting a fly and missed? How many times have you tried swatting a mosquito and knocked it out of the air?

A little easier, right?

Why is that?

Well, a fly is quicker than a mosquito in the air. A mosquito hovers and glides while a fly runs circles around that slow moving hand. Besides those qualities there isn’t much difference. The reason it’s so difficult to swat that fly instead of a mosquito is due to your hand eye coordination. I am sure you have heard hand eye coordination used before yet never understood the significance of this ability.

Hand eye coordination works by the eyes focusing on a visual signal that is transferred to the brain as information. Once that information is deciphered (the object occupying the given space) the information is then sent to the cerebellum for proper motor coordination to achieve the task. This all happens in seconds which makes this human ability quite a phenomenon. Most athletes are gifted with above average hand eye coordination since in every sport (with the exception of soccer that calls for hand foot coordination) this quality is needed for success.

So what’s the significance of hand eye coordination for the average individual person?

Well, an average individual with good hand eye coordination will have a better reaction time than someone with poor hand eye coordination. This situation can be the difference between getting hit in the face by a ball and dodging it all together. It also makes other tasks easier such as shaving, picking up an apple rolling on the ground, or even rubbing your eye without poking yourself in the eye. Hand eye coordination has also been linked for advancing the maturation of critical thinking.

Many people do not realize the significance of hand eye coordination until it starts to deteriorate in advance age. Doing activities such as cup stacking will keep you sharp as coordination begins to decline. What many people don’t understand is that hand eye coordination is more than a necessity for sports but an attribute to a healthy productive lifestyle.

-Phil