Brown eyes
Brown eyes are more common worldwide than any other eye color. But the prevalence of brown eyes varies significantly with geography. Most people living in Africa and Asia have dark brown eyes. Dark brown eye color also is very common in the Middle East. In Europe, the prevalence and shade of brown eyes vary significantly from region to region.
In the United States, an estimated 41% of the population has brown eyes — including dark brown eyes, light brown eyes, and honey-brown eyes. If you include hazel eyes (sometimes called hazel brown eyes), the prevalence is even higher.
But a high prevalence of brown eye color doesn't mean all brown eyes look the same. There is plenty of variation in the appearance of brown eyes (even within a given shade) from person to person.
10. Interesting Facts About Brown Eyes
Here are seven interesting facts about brown eyes:
1. Brown eyes are resilient.
Brown eyes are more resistant to problems because they have more melanin. It also helps to repair DNA damage and to keep the eyes moist. People with brown eyes are also less likely to develop certain types of eye diseases, such as age-related macular degeneration.
2.Fast Reflexes
Researchers at the University of Louisville found eye color may have some link to performance in sports. People with brown eyes performed better in fast-paced sports like football and hockey than their lighter-eyed counterparts.
3. Some Brown Eyes Were Originally Blue
While Europeans can have brown eyes just like people from other parts of the world, the difference is Europeans with brown eyes aren’t born with them. According to an article in Live Science, most European babies are born with blue eyes - those with brown eyes develop them months later, as melanin production picks up. Maybe this explains where the term “baby blues” comes from.
4. Lower Pain Tolerance
It seems hard to believe that eye color could play a role in perceptions of pain, but that’s what researchers have found. A study in the (ominously titled) Journal of Pain found that pregnant women with brown eyes had on average more painful times giving birth than lighter-eyed women. They also were more susceptible to anxiety, depression, and even sleep issues.
5. Seen as More Trustworthy
People with brown eyes are seen as more trustworthy. A Czech study found that participants looking at photos of people with brown eyes rated them more trustworthy than those with blue eyes. While that study was small, polling data also shows people associate brown eyes with kindness, patience, and reliability
6. Fewer Hearing Problems
According to the National Library of Medicine, eye color is a risk factor for hearing loss. Melanin can protect nerves from noise. Since brown-eyed people tend to have more melanin, they’re less sensitive to loud noises.
7. Less Sensitive to Sunlight
People with light-colored eyes often find bright sunlight uncomfortable (a condition known as photophobia). Due to their higher melanin, people with brown eyes are more comfortable with bright light.
8. Lower Alcohol Tolerance
It turns out that people with brown colored eyes are more sensitive to alcohol. Several studies have found that people with lighter eyes can drink more without getting drunk as quickly. But while this means they can hold their liquor more, it also raises their risk for alcoholism. Because people with brown eyes have less of a tolerance for alcohol, they end up drinking less overall, which lowers their risk for addiction.
9. More Likely to Wish for a Different Eye Color
Perhaps because they are the most common, people with brown eyes are more likely to wish they had a different color. According to a poll by 1800Contacts, brown-eyed respondents were at number one with 26.2% saying they wish they had a different eye color, followed by hazel at 17.1%.
10. Intelligence
Intelligence was the number one trait associated with brown, the most common eye color in the U.S., by 34 percent of respondents. Being trustworthy was second (16 percent said this) and kind (13 percent) came in as the third most likely trait of those with brown eyes.
Other research has said brown-eyed people have stronger eye contact skills, with researchers speculating this could be because they don't anticipate being looked at as much as blue-eyed people.
0 Comments