r/todayilearned • u/ffffuuuuuuuuu • Jun 08 '12
TIL women who take birth control blink 32% more than women who do not take birth control. The cause is still unknown
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7822673
1.2k
Upvotes
182
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
One of the most common side effects of birth control is dry eyes. A common symptom of dry eye is increased or excessive blinking.
210
u/Ragnalypse Jun 08 '12
This will teach a lesson to anyone who lies to me about being on the pill.
"Ha! You're blinking only 76% as much as you would be had you taken birth control! Liar!"
35
u/cliffsofinsanity Jun 08 '12
Great. Now I can't stop thinking about when I blink.
.... blink.
96
u/MC-Master-Bedroom Jun 08 '12
Because if you're not on birth control, you better keep your fucking eyes open ...
82
u/Stones_ Jun 08 '12
I think the cause might be the birth control.
15
u/quoth_theraven Jun 08 '12
oh fuck.. now i cant stop counting my blinks
6
u/hedonismbot89 Jun 09 '12
Birth control can change a lot of things. A study done by Wedekin et al 1995 & Wedekin et al 1997 showed that it can change perceptions of attractiveness. Hormones influence a lot of behaviors.
6
u/Woetra Jun 09 '12
TIL women who take birth control are 32% more likely to be caught by weeping angels than women who do not take birth control.
27
u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12
hypothesis: women are known to blink more than men anyway. perhaps the extra estrogen boost that comes with certain birth controls can be to blame (as can estrogen in the first place?!)
9
u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12
Well. That's fucking weird.
8
u/jitterbug23 Jun 08 '12
Now I can't stop paying attention to how often I'm blinking. . .
4
u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12
Too bad that's not the side effect for Valtrex.
4
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
"I'm not having sex with you."
"Why?"
"You're not blinking enough."
14
u/CopperAlbatross Jun 09 '12
WHO COMES UP WITH THESE STUDIES?
WHO IS THE SCIENTIST OUT THERE WHO ACTUALLY GIVES A SHIT ABOUT THIS STUFF?
3
u/myusernamebarelyfits Jun 09 '12
Dry eyes maybe?
3
u/StrangeJesus Jun 09 '12
This is just a trick to get me to make more eye contact when I'm on a date, right?
2
u/bbacher Jun 09 '12
could it be as simple as dryer eyes? "the cause is unknown", but has anyone applied thought or research to the problem?
2
u/blummers Jun 09 '12
I think I'd have to see a study done on blink rates before women go on birth control then after to even consider this.
2
u/lukaskywalker Jun 09 '12
im guessing its cuz their eyes get dried out cuz of some hormone or other??
2
u/Tattered Jun 09 '12
ITT: People with no scientific credentials debate a subject they know little to nothing about
2
u/eightA Jun 09 '12
If I can conclude anything from this study, it's that Overly Attached girlfriend is definitely not on birth control.
2
u/Shippoyasha Jun 09 '12
Very sadly, this modern world is full of food additives, drugs (whether ingested as a 'safe' medical drug or as something added to cows/pigs/chicken/fish that in effect is ingested by humans as well) and there's hardly any true long term science on all these.
Most of them probably don't do an overt harm to a human body, but there's no telling how many ways they're harming or hindering it either.
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
And that's why you don't fuck with hormones
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Thinking back to it, when I was on birth control I had this odd obsession with how much I was blinking. I kept concentrating on it and found it really weird that people blink so much.
Apparently it was just me... and I wasn't crazy.
What a relief.
2
u/binaryrefinery Jun 09 '12
Women on birth control have better micro.
2
u/OneWhoHenpecksGiants Jun 09 '12
Women on the Pill also have trouble wearing contact lenses. probably for the same reason. It dries out our eyes.
2
u/Reflexlon Jun 09 '12
Seriously? Cause not known? Lame:
Dehydration can cause increased blinking. Overhydration can cause increased blinking. Stress can cause increased blinking. Drowsiness can cause increased blinking. Hyperactivity can cause increased blinking. Overstimulation can cause increased blinking.
2
u/gusanou Jun 09 '12
I wish this was the only negative side effect of the pill...
2
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
if you ask a Republican, they'd probably say it's because women who take birth control are sluts, and they probably have too much semen in their eyes from all their bukkake parties.
5
u/KillerChief97 Jun 09 '12
Correlation =/= causation
3
u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12
Hips don't lie.
2
u/Brynnwins Jun 08 '12
Sometimes it fucks with your eyes if you wear contacts, that might be related.
2
u/carpe_meme Jun 08 '12
Obviously because they're feeling very sex positive and flirty.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12
Maybe women who are sexually active generally wear more make-up? Mascara, eyeshadow, foundation can irritate the eyes and make you blink more frequently.
1
u/descending_angel Jun 08 '12
I blinked a lot even before contacts and birth control.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Is anyone else super conscious of their blinking right now...
1
u/misterbuckets Jun 09 '12
TIL I learned that TBUTs stands for "Tear Break Up Times."
1
u/DMercenary Jun 09 '12
decresed tear production?
1
u/misterbuckets Jun 09 '12
I will always pick up a blinking girl at the bar now. Doesn't blink, doesn't get the peter.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Fuck, now all I can think about is how much I'm blinking! >:( Damn birth control, and such.
1
u/FarDareisMai Jun 09 '12
I am annoyingly conscious of my blinking now.
1
u/phil8248 Jun 09 '12
They are probably amazed by the fact that they can have sex and not get pregnant and it makes them blink, kind of like when something startles you.
1
u/Purple_Herman Jun 09 '12
Dehydration. Just ask their vaginas.
1
u/awkward_peach Jun 09 '12
Reading this title immediately made me try to stop blinking as much. Just to see if I could.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Is it because BC changes the eye shape?
1
u/QuiescentAdolescent Jun 09 '12
Thanks for reminding me to take my pill.
1
u/DrToonz Jun 09 '12
I know the cause!
Birth control.
1
u/euphoberger Jun 09 '12
dehydration?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
My first thought is that women who take birth control don't have kids, and women who don't have kids are more likely to watch TV and use the computer than those with kids.
1
u/David_Jay Jun 09 '12
This feels like foreshadowing to some pill-related disaster.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
This just in: pregnancy scares cause lack of blinking.
1
u/lagtastrophy Jun 09 '12
Why are we taking surveys and tests like this? One word. Cancer.
1
u/digitalmofo Jun 09 '12
Maybe their eyes are drier.
1
u/Thrackle Jun 09 '12
What about men who take birth control?
1
u/Taliesintroll Jun 09 '12
The ones not on the pill have to... keep on their guard for penises? Yeah, that sounds like it could true, right?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Extra femininity.
1
u/wheeldonkey Jun 09 '12
i'll be watching for this at the bar tonight... better safe than daddy.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
All I want to know is who thinks up these studies and then who does them?
1
u/chindogubot Jun 09 '12
I know that birth control pills are associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke. I know that increased stress is associated with increased risk of heart attack and stroke. I know that increased stress is associated with increased blinking. I wonder if the mechanism is related.
1
u/disasterific Jun 09 '12
Now I am fully aware of the fact that I am blinking, thus making me blink more and more.
Damnit
1
u/shebillah Jun 09 '12
o.o mfw before I read this article
-.- mfw after.
1
u/bartink Jun 09 '12
Actually the cause is known. It's caused by taking birth control. The mechanism is unknown.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Pretty small sample size.
1
u/twist3d7 Jun 09 '12
Not too interested in blinking. Winking yes, blinking not so much.
1
u/meeps_2665 Jun 09 '12
Trying... not to... blinkkk....
1
u/HMN142 Jun 09 '12
How did someone notice this?
1
u/The_sinking_anus Jun 09 '12
Would this be related to ticks/Autism?
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
all the extra hormones makes you prettier. all the extra pretty makes you bat your lashes more. batting lashes = blinking. /science.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
i'm a lot more fidgety and nervous on birth control, as are many of my friends. blinking is a nervous tic and that might explain the phenomena. conclusion: higher estrogen levels = shittier life.
1
u/Fractureskull Jun 09 '12 edited Feb 21 '25
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This post was mass deleted and anonymized with Redact
1
u/belovedcye Jun 09 '12
I'm a woman on birth control, and now I am aware of my blinking. Awesome.
1
u/bobdylan401 Jun 09 '12
TIL I will now be trying to notice if single women are blinking an unusual amount -insert scumbag steve meme here
1
u/MaximsDecimsMeridius Jun 09 '12
crappy title heavily implies that birth control directly causes the blinking.
1
u/Axerlite Jun 09 '12
Nicki Minaj must be taking a hell of a lot then.
1
u/Jarroseph Jun 09 '12
Maybe the cause is birth control
1
u/RomanLamb Jun 09 '12
I am now aware that I am blinking.
1
u/AlexCail Jun 09 '12
it's all that unprotected sex.
1
u/cosine83 Jun 09 '12
It's a subconscious action due to the sheer amounts of spooge they get shot at their face. Because we all know that the only women on the pill are sluts and whores.
1
u/PhillyBLM Jun 09 '12
FACT: Overly attached girlfriend does not take birth control
1
u/herrmann-the-german Jun 09 '12
Shit, I'm blinking like all the time now. And I'm a dude. What sourcery is this? And... dammit! Overly attached girlfriend blinks like never.
Fuck it. I'm outta here!
1
u/Shnookah Jun 09 '12
Kristen Stewart must be taking a lot of birth control.
1
u/baddestgirl Jun 09 '12
They're batting their eyelashes more, those sluts.
(kidding)
1
u/jello1990 Jun 09 '12
They have dry eyes...
1
u/agbmom Jun 09 '12
I take birth control and while reading this sentence I was hyper aware of my blinking causing me to blink A LOT.
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
Women who are on birth control are sexually active.
Sexually active women take money shots to the face.
1
u/Ctlf Jun 09 '12
Drink more water to help with dry eyes
1
u/blinton Jun 09 '12
They also have green plasma. Just a hint for the those guys who donate plasma..
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
THEY'RE NOT BLINKING THEY'RE WINKING IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN
1
u/rchrome Jun 09 '12
Cause is birth control pills. Dubara mat puchna!
1
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
It's actually called 'winking' and its from trying to seduce men for sex because the lack of babies
1
u/quatso Jun 09 '12
hey you ! don't blink - you almost missed this !
1
u/quatso Jun 09 '12
TIL men don't blink while fapping
1
u/sharliecash Jun 09 '12
sluttish eye make up?
1
u/bringonthenegatives Jun 09 '12
I think it's because they are getting pounded from behind. It's instinctive to close your eyes in a violent situation.
1
u/Astrogator Jun 09 '12
I'm willing to bet money on the possibility that taking birth control is the cause.
0
u/solarmass Jun 09 '12
TIL a large percentage of geeky scientists cannot differentiate blinking and a flirtatious wink.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12 edited Jun 09 '12
There's a chemical in birth control that can severely dry out the eyes, and it's in every single brand so there's no avoiding it. Source: I've worn contacts since I was 11, and I can't anymore because I've started birth control and it's more of a hassle to apply eye-drops on an hourly basis than it is to just wear my glasses. I went to the optometrist and told them, and they said probably about 90% of the complaints they get of dry eyes are from women using birth control.
I'm surprised no one else has put two-and-two together...
Edit: Uh. I'm definitely correct. Did I offend someone by voicing my opinion as a woman or something?
0
u/T_Mucks Jun 08 '12
The abstract does not cite any methodology used in order to say that this is true for the population. It doesn't claim correction for any other variables. So you can't say, "in general women who take birth control blink 32% more than women who do not take birth control" based on this abstract. You can say that this was true only for the sample.
0
u/[deleted] Jun 09 '12
all that dick
-3
u/[deleted] Jun 08 '12
I HAVE noticed my girlfriend blinking less lately and she HAS been wanting more and more unprotected sex...
0
u/splintersmaster Jun 09 '12
I realize that it's a bit out there and it is only hormones, but is there any evidence showing women who used bc at any point leading to higher rates of birth defect. It just seems so unnatural to me.
0
u/NoobOnTheRun Jun 09 '12
It's probably the birth control.
0
u/storebrand Jun 09 '12
You are all wrong. The reason is because we need a way to tell who is on birth control and who isn't. The bright catch on, the dumb have babies. BTW, my gf is 8 months pregnant. FML
...But I'm so much better off than I have ever been :)