Some prescription and non-prescription medications can cause the pupil to dilate, as they affect the muscle in your iris that controls your pupils. Here are some of the most common reasons that can cause mydriasis: Medication This can be caused by the use of certain medications, injury or disease. Known by the medical term mydriasis, the pupil can dilate without any change in light or emotion. As a response to these emotional states, the pupil may dilate to better assess threats – just like some animal's pupils would when they’re getting ready to attack. Other emotions such as anger, fear, and anxiety can result in pupil dilation. What other emotions can cause your pupils to dilate?Īrousal and love are not the only emotions that can cause your pupils to increase in size. It’s possible that when looking at a loved one and you notice that their pupils are dilated, it’s likely a sign they have strong feelings for you. But the hormone can make the pupil widen as a side effect. The happy hormone, also known as dopamine, is produced when the body expects something good, such as a slice of cake or attention from a loved one. The autonomic nervous system triggers various responses during emotions, such as arousal or happiness. Why does the pupil dilate when looking at someone you are attracted to? They also found that heterosexual women who said they preferred short-term relationships were more attracted to pictures of men with larger pupils, while women who preferred long-term relationships were more attracted to smaller pupils. An experiment conducted by Selina Tombs and Irwin Silverman of the Department of Psychology at York University found that women prefer a range of different pupil sizes. However, researchers have also found that women don’t respond to pupil dilation the same way as men. Other studies have also found that dilated pupils can be a response to arousal, and that size and darkness can be used to determine sexual interest. It should be noted that none of the men noticed the detail change in the photos. The men described the woman with bigger pupils as “soft”, “pretty” and “feminine”, while characterising the woman with the reduced pupils as “hard”, “cold” and “selfish”. Being shown two photos of the same woman where the size of pupils have been altered to be different in each, men found women with larger pupils to be more attractive and open. Research has found that heterosexual men are more attracted to women when their pupils are dilated. Eye contact has been a central part of human interaction for a long time, so it’s no surprise that a change in emotion could cause the pupil to dilate. Dilated pupils can be anywhere between 4.0 to 8.0 mm, which means they can double in size!ĭo your pupils dilate when you look at someone you are attracted to? Pupil size can decrease in size with age, but generally, a normal pupil can range in size from 2.0 to 4.0 millimetres (mm). When it is bright, they will reduce in size to limit the amount of light that enters your eye, and in low-light situations, the pupil will increase or ‘dilate’ to allow more light in. The pupils control how much light enters the eyes and can get bigger or smaller depending on how much light is around. Our pupils are the dark circles in the middle of the eyes and are controlled by the muscles in the coloured section of the eye (the iris) which is managed by the branches of the autonomic nervous system. What are pupils and why do they change in size? But is this true? The experts at Lenstore have outlined all the reasons why our pupils might change in size and the potential meanings behind this uncontrollable reflex.

You might have even heard that pupil dilation can signify that someone is attracted to you.

Ever wondered if you can tell what someone is thinking simply by looking into their eyes? Research has shown that our emotions play a part in pupil dilation and constriction, a completely involuntary action controlled by the autonomic nervous system.

Pupils two different sizes