Is your date into you or lying? Here’s what their blinking says about them

Going on a date for the first time with a stranger can be nerve-wracking. When you meet someone in person, you want to get to know them and whether they are telling the truth during the conversation.

Blinking can reveal a lot about intentions and emotions.

A body language expert, Traci Brown, says you can find out a lot by looking at how someone blinks.

“To find out if someone is lying, you’ll want to pay attention to how the person blinks when they have nothing to lie about. Then when deception is at play, you may notice it quickly changes. Typically, if their blinking changes, it will get less rapid during the lie and increase dramatically after the lie is told.”

What blinking says about your date
Eye movements may seem insignificant, but blinking patterns can reveal a lot. The average adult blinks every 3-4 seconds, or about 15-20 times a minute. Changes to this could be giving something away.

1. There’s a spark: rapid blinking and tapping
The blink rate is a significant indicator of mental arousal, and it can show us when we’re excited, nervous or even bored. When a date is fluttering their eyes while making eye contact, it could indicate that they’re pretty nervous, but excited to be on the date with you.

This is especially true when coupled with other classic nervous behaviour, like sweating, fidgeting or tapping.

2. They’re just not that into you: blinking a lot and no eye contact
If your date is blinking a lot, coupled with minimal eye contact and a closed body posture, this could be a sign that there isn’t any chemistry – and your first date may be your last. This is probably not the result you will be hoping for, but it is easy to pick up on.

3. They’re lying: eyes wide open, followed by rapid blinking
According to body language experts, unbroken eye contact may not be as romantic as we thought.

When a person lies, they tend to look focused, and there’s not much blinking involved as they concentrate on the details of a lie. Liars are focused on getting the story straight, which means that the cognitive part of the brain pays less attention to the eye blink rate – instead, liars tend to blink after the lie was told.