It has long been believed that you can tell a lot about a person simply by looking into their eyes. Eye contact is one of the most intimate exchanges between two people, with your eyes revealing your true feelings, providing a glimpse into your heart.

“The eyes are the windows of the soul.”

• Thomas Phaer

While we know that the eyes can reveal a lot – from our emotions at a given time to giving away when we are telling a lie – the question becomes just how much can be revealed about an individual from looking deep into their eyes. Scientists at Orebro University in Sweden conducted a study with 428 participants analyzing and comparing personality traits.

Through this analysis, they revealed a connection between eye color and specific characteristics. These traits, they believe, are a result of the gene that is responsible for the development of the iris, determining the color of your eyes.

Dr. Anthony Fallone, lecturer on Cognitive Neuropsychology at the University of Edinburgh explained, “The eye is so closely linked neurologically to the brain that you might call it the only part of our brain you can see from the outside. It seems to hold vital clues to our brain function.”

Curious about what your eye color reveals about your personality? Read on…

Green Eyes

Green eyes are the most desired and sought after eye color, with most people wanting to change their eye color to green if given the chance. Falling into the spectrum somewhere between blue and brown, these individuals lack the melanin to have brown eyes, however, have too much to result in a bright blue.

Not only is the color of their eyes a mixture of these colors, so are their personalities! They are highly agreeable like those with brown eyes, however also possess traits of those with blue eyes such as their incredible strength. This balance of the two colors results in a mysterious aura that surrounds them everywhere they go. Highly creative and intuitive, they perform incredibly well under pressure.

A study conducted by CyberPulse examining the commonalities of individuals with each eye color found that those individuals who possessed green eyes were seen as being exotic and charming. This combination is found to be extremely attractive!

Hazel Eyes

Hazel eyes fascinate many due to their uncanny ability to change from brown to green, or any combination of the two. Due to the fact that this eye color is created by a combination of two differing colors, everyone is different and unique, much like their personality.

People with hazel eyes are independent, spontaneous, confident, strong and secretive. They possess a level of physical strength and stamina that most would be jealous of, creating the image of being the ‘complete package.’

Their independence and confidence means that they tend to walk alone, limiting their friend circle to only the closest of people that they deem are worth their time. They give off the impression of being mysterious as they hold their cards close to their heart, saving their true thoughts and feelings to only share among those that they believe deserve to hear them.

Brown Eyes

The most common eye color in the world, brown eye people can be found all around us much to our surprise. Assertive and confident, people with brown eyes are generally highly social, making friends everywhere they go.

In a study analyzing the sleep habits of their participants, a connection was found between eye color and sleep habits. Individuals with brown eyes were found to struggle with getting up in the morning. Definitely not morning people, these are the people who live for their snooze button! Enjoying, on average, two hours less sleep than those with lighter colored eyes, their poor sleep cycles leave them tired much of the time.

Another study at the Charles University in Prague focused on the connection between eye colors and various personality traits. Researchers discovered that those with brown eyes were respectful and loyal towards those that they allow into their lives, caring deeply for the people they hold dear, however still holding onto their assertive ways.

Dark Brown/Black Eyes

The rarest of the eye colors, people with heavily pigmented eyes have brown eyes that are so dark they give off the impression of being black.

This specific color means that there is an increased amount of melanin found in the iris. The connection between the eye and the brain dictates that there would, then, also be an increased amount of melanin in the brain. The melanin functions to allow the cells within your brain to communicate quickly and efficiently, resulting in the ability to think faster on your feet than most other eye colors.

This skill for quick thinking means that they are better adapted for sports that focus on target-hitting such as tennis and baseball. They demonstrate a high level of accuracy in these activities.

A study published in the March 2010 volume of ‘Current Psychology’ analyzed the agreeability of individuals as dictated by their eye color. Those with dark-brown or black eyes were found to be highly agreeable and less competitive.

Blue Eyes

Blue is the second most common eye color throughout the world. This eye color is created by a lack of melanin in the body, which means that the iris allows blue light to escape giving the impression of blue eyes.

People with blue eyes have been found to have an incredible pain tolerance. In a study completed at the University of Pittsburgh involving 58 participants, it was found that women with blue eyes were actually better equipped to handle the pain of childbirth, reporting far less pain and discomfort than those with darker colored eyes.

This strength is not only true of their ability to handle physical pain, but also psychological pain with the blue-eyed women also showing an increased ability to handle postpartum depression and anxiety following the delivery.

Their ability to handle higher levels of pain means that people with blue eyes are able to withstand situations in which they are experiencing discomfort for much longer than their darker eyed counterparts, never uttering so much as a whimper or complaint.

Gray Eyes

The phenomenon of having gray eyes is actually a variation of blue eyes, but far rarer. This eye color comes in two different variations with dark gray eyes indicating that the individual has more melanin whereas light gray eyes indicate that they have far less.

Those with gray eyes are society’s ‘workhorses’, able to put a lot more time and effort into their work before they feel as though they have exerted themselves to any degree. They will put their blood, sweat, and tears into their work without holding back, all that they ask is that they are taken seriously by those that they work with and for.

Lighter gray eyes indicate that they are highly in touch with their emotions, however, they keep them guarded, building a wall in order to keep others out. Despite their desire to shy away from deep connections, they care deeply for those that they do allow into your life and would do just about anything for them.

Darker gray eyes represent someone who has two very different and very distinct personalities within one body. These two opposing personalities work together in order to create a balance within your personality. This means that they possess the ability to be both good AND evil depending on how they feel at the moment.