What Do Your Eyes Reveal About You?
We’re all familiar with the saying, “the eyes are the window to the soul“. While it is difficult to pinpoint the exact origin of this well-known proverb, the sentiment behind it has been echoed from many sources, from William Shakespeare and Leonardo Da Vinci to the Bible and several ancient philosophers.
But this phrase has been so overused in advertising and daily conversation that it is easy to appreciate what it actually means. The fact is, the saying bears a lot of truth about how our eyes help us to communicate our inner state. Think about it: How important do you consider eye contact to be when communicating with others?
Indeed, eye contact is one of the biggest factors in connecting with another person. Some research has even suggested that it can take as little as 8.2 seconds of eye contact to fall in love with someone.
But our eyes are much more complex than simple “windows”. They are almost continuously moving, often so fast, it would be impossible to be conscious of every movement.
How We See the World
While you are reading this article, for example, your eyes are making a series of minuscule movements called saccades as they fixate rapidly on one word after the other. And then there are the more sweeping movements, such as when you walk into a busy cafe and gaze around to take in all your surroundings.
Many of our eye movements are voluntary, but there are many more that are reflexive. Small involuntary movements help to stabilise our vision as we walk along the street, or during the dream phase of our sleep, known as rapid eye movement, or REM sleep.
Our eyes are constantly working hard in study and observation. They literally shape how we see the world. But what can our eyes say about ourselves? We’re taking a look at what modern science has to say about how your eyes can offer a glimpse into your thought processes and even who you are.
When it comes to pupils, size matters
Your pupils can be one of the biggest indicators of your state of mind, whether you are aware of it or not. That’s because the size of our pupils can change based on a wide range of factors.
Decision-Making
For instance, in a 2014 study, researchers showed how pupil size was affected by decision-making. They found that the degree of certainty you feel when making a decision is linked to how much, or little, your pupils dilate.
This is likely because, when we are uncertain about something, we enter a state of heightened alertness. This causes our pupils to dilate in order to allow more light to enter the eye, keeping us on high alert for potential threats.
As such, changes in pupil size can potentially be indicative of the decision you are likely to make. Another study found that monitoring pupil dilation allowed them to predict when a cautious person—someone used to saying ‘no’—was about to make a tricky decision and say ‘yes’.
Emotions
Of course, pupil size is much more complex than simply being an indicator of decision-making. It is also linked to many other things going on in the body. For example, physical trauma and exposure to certain drugs and medications can all affect pupil dilation. Moreover, evidence indicates that physiological responses to different emotions, such as excitement and even love, can also cause our pupils to dilate.
But that isn’t to say pupil dilation is a reliable indicator of whether someone loves you. Increased pupil size can also indicate fear and other not-so-positive emotions, so it’s probably best not to rely completely on that!
Mind Reading?
Some studies suggest that our eyes can offer an even more impressive insight into our minds. For example, researchers at the University of Zurich assessed the eye movements of participants while they read a list of forty numbers. They found that they were able to predict whether the number the participants were about to read out was higher or lower than the previous number, and even by how much, based on their eye movements.
Their predictions considered the direction and size of the participants’ eye movements. Typically, when the subject’s gaze shifted up and to the right, they were about to say a higher number, while if it shifted down and to the left, they would say a lower number. What’s more, the more significant the movement of their eyes, the bigger the difference between the two numbers.
So, while our eyes may not reveal our innermost desires and secrets, such findings show that they may be indicative of much more than we previously thought. By revealing such insights, scientists are showing us how our eye movements and behaviours can influence our lives.
We may even be able to use our eyes as a tool for mental clarity. One study found that when you focus your eyes on an object 12 to 18 inches away, your brain wave activity and heart rate decrease. When this happens, our bodies release tension, allowing for greater mental clarity – and who knows what you can achieve then!
Do you want to get your eyes working to their best? Get in touch with one of our friendly clinic coordinators or Book a Consultation today to find out if you could be suitable for Laser Eye Surgery.
