Systems and methods for operating a display by dynamically determining a refresh rate for the display. In certain implementations, a processor determines a number of pixels having medium grayscale levels from a histogram for the image. If the number does not exceed a threshold, the processor sets a refresh rate for the display to a first refresh rate. In certain implementations, if the number exceeds a threshold, the processor may set the refresh rate for the display to a second refresh rate. Moreover, the first refresh rate may be lower than the second threshold. In some implementations, the image may be analyzed by subdividing the image into blocks and determining a refresh rate based on grayscale levels or distributions in the blocks. Based on the analysis of the blocks, a corresponding refresh rate may be selected.