Why Does Tunnel Vision Raise Energy?

Andrew Huberman says aiming vision at one target raises arousal and the ability to recruit physical energy and mental energy. Opening the gaze does the reverse: the body relaxes, and less energy can be sent to one place.

Animals with eyes on the side of the head tend to be prey and take in a panorama. Animals with eyes in front tend to be predators and get stronger depth perception. Some animals can shift the eyes from a wide view to a focused view. Human eyes stay fixed in the head, but moving vision toward a vergence point, a target, still raises arousal. People in the fight game know the narrow view. Dilating the gaze is like coming off the gas pedal. Vision and time perception are linked, so a wider view lets a person see more. Motion perception at the edges improves because the view is a panorama rather than a soda straw. The cost is a weaker ability to pour a lot of energy into one location.

Andrew Huberman reads the myth of the Cyclops as a creature locked into soda-straw vision and therefore constantly angry. The anger is what leads to its demise. It cannot see the big picture, so an attack from the side can defeat it.