Picture this: You're watching the World Series of Poker. Camera zooms in. Massive bet on the line. Dark sunglasses. Stone face. Not a muscle moving.

Why the shades? It's not because the casino lights are too bright.

Professional poker players know a secret most of us miss: your eyes give away everything. They're constantly broadcasting your emotional state to anyone paying attention. The worst thing a poker player can have is a "tell" — some involuntary change that reveals whether they're bluffing or holding pocket aces. (That's why the shades.)

Not into poker? Good. Here's something way more useful: the same eye-emotion connection poker players try to hide can actually become a powerful tool for managing anxiety, frustration, and stress. It's a simple practice that can shift you from anxiety into curiosity in about 10 seconds. (Seriously. No bluff here.)

(Though it does take practice, so don't panic if the first time you try it it doesn't work like magic. I don't offer magic bullets.)

Ready to hack your emotional state using nothing but your eyes? Let's dive in.

What Darwin Discovered About Fear and Wide Eyes

First, some science. Back in the 1800s, Charles Darwin theorized why our eyes go wide when we're scared. He figured that when facing uncertainty, we instinctively open our eyes wider to gather more visual information about potential danger. Makes sense, right? The more we can see, the better we can assess if that rustling bush contains a predator or just the wind.

But Darwin's hunch went deeper.

Wide eyes don't just help us see better. They also send a signal. The contrast between your sclera (the whites of your eyes) and the rest of the eye is particularly pronounced in humans. It's an instant broadcast: "Danger here."

Modern neuroscience picked up on Darwin's tell.

In 2013, psychologists Daniel Lee, Joshua Susskind, and Adam Anderson ran a clever experiment. They had people pose with different facial expressions: (1) fear (wide eyes), (2) neutral, and (3) disgust (narrowed eyes). Then they tested how well participants could perform cognitive tasks.

The results were telling: People who posed with fearful, wide-eyed expressions performed significantly better on tasks requiring attention and information processing. Meanwhile, those who narrowed their eyes in disgust? Their performance tanked.

Yet, the next bit is even more eye-opening. Researchers showed participants pictures of eyes only (no full faces) and found that simply seeing wide eyes improved cognitive performance. The takeaway? It wasn't about feeling afraid; it was about the iris-to-sclera ratio. Wider eyes = better information processing. (Are you paying attention now?)

Let's see how this connects to your daily life. It's huge.

Your Brain's Emotional-Physical Memory System

Your brain has been forming what we scientists call "somatic memories:" linking body positions and facial expressions with emotions. Think of it as emotional-physical memory.

Every time you've been stressed and hunched your shoulders, every time you've been angry and squinted your eyes, you've been training your brain to connect these physical states with emotional states.

This connection works through your autonomic nervous system, the system controlling your heartbeat and breathing. When you change your expression, you're sending signals (largely via the vagus nerve) that influence your emotional state. Pretty cool, right?

Try this quick experiment: Tighten your shoulders right now and scrunch them up toward your ears. Hold that for a few seconds. Notice how it makes you feel? Probably a bit stressed or tense, right? Booyah! That's your somatic memory system at work.

Your eyes work the same way. We associate their literal openness with taking in new information. Wide eyes signal: "Learning mode, gathering information, open to new possibilities." Narrowed eyes signal: "Focused on action, no new input right now."

Here's the key mechanism: when you deliberately widen your eyes, you're leveraging the exact neural pathway that naturally opens them when you're genuinely curious. Your brain interprets the physical change as a shift from threat-mode (do something!) to information-gathering mode (curiosity). You've just sent your nervous system a different command.

This is why it's nearly impossible to be genuinely curious when your eyes are squinted, and why it's hard to stay angry when your eyes are wide open. Don't believe me? Try it right now and see for yourself.

Now for the practical magic.

The 10-Second Anxiety Reset

You can use this eye-emotion connection to literally shift your brain state from anxiety to curiosity. Here's the how-to:

Next time you notice yourself feeling anxious, frustrated, angry or overwhelmed:

  1. Name it: Simply say to yourself, "Oh, that's anxiety" (or frustration, stress, etc.)
  2. Check your eyes: Notice: are they narrow and squinted, or wide and open?
  3. Open wide! Deliberately open your eyes wide (you can even add a little "hmmm" or "ohhhh?!" sound if you want to feel slightly ridiculous but more curious)
  4. Hold and observe: Keep them wide for 10 seconds and notice what happens to that difficult emotion. Does it get stronger? Weaker? Does it shift or change character?

This may sound almost too simple to work. But remember: you're hacking millions of years of evolutionary wiring. That association is nearly automatic. You don't need magic. You just need neurology.

Important (and probably obvious) note: This technique works best when you catch anxiety early, before it escalates into full panic. And while evolution is on your side, it also isn't. If you've formed a longstanding habit of worrying, this eye practice can take a bit of practice to make it your new go-to.

But, why not just grit my teeth?

Why This Works When Willpower Fails

Most anxiety management techniques rely on your prefrontal cortex — the part of your brain most associated with willpower. The problem? It's the first part of your brain to go offline when you're stressed or anxious. (See my previous article on "The Willpower Illusion" for more.)

This eye technique works differently. It taps into your brain's ancient associative learning system. You don't have to try to think your way out of anxiety; you're using your body to signal to your brain that it's time to shift gears.

Think of it as a direct message to your brain: "Hey, we're in curiosity mode now, not threat mode." The physical change in your eye position interrupts the anxiety feedback loop by changing the sensory information being sent to your brain.

Simple. Perhaps not easy at first, but simple.

Making It a Habit

So how do you shift from seeing the eye hack to getting it to stick?

The beauty of this practice is that you can do it anywhere, anytime. Stuck in traffic? Overwhelmed at work? Anxious about a difficult conversation? Your eyes are always with you.

Start by trying this a few times throughout your day, even when you're not anxious. You establish the neural pathway when you're calm, which makes it accessible when you actually need it. Whenever you notice a difficult emotion arising, see if you can pause, name it, and then open your eyes wide with curiosity. What do you notice? How does the feeling shift?

Keep in mind that like any new skill, this takes practice. Some people notice an immediate shift, while others need several weeks of consistent practice before it becomes automatic. Don't get discouraged if it doesn't work perfectly right away.

Over time, you're not just managing emotions in the moment — you're actually training your brain to default to curiosity. You're building a "habit of curiosity" itself.

To be clear, this eye trick isn't the only tool you'll need. It's one tool in the kit I use to help my patients learn how to work with their brains. (See my other articles, e.g., 'Is Anxiety a Habit?').

Ready to reset?

Your Built-In Emotional Reset Button

Professional poker players wear sunglasses because they know their eyes broadcast everything. But you don't need to hide your emotions; you can learn to shift them.

The eye trick works because it aligns with how your brain already functions. The next time frustration, stress or anxiety tries to hijack your day, remember: you have a reset button built right into your face. Sometimes the most powerful tools are hiding in plain sight.

So the next time you feel overwhelmed, instead of putting on your sunglasses or running to hide, try the 10-second eye exercise and see how well it works for you.

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Judson Brewer MD PhD is a psychiatrist and neuroscientist. He is a professor at Brown University and runs a virtual program for anyone with anxiety (www.goingbeyondanxiety.com). He co-founded MindshiftRecovery.org which provides free support for people with any type of addiction. He is the author of Unwinding Anxiety (NYTimes bestseller), The Craving Mind, The Hunger Habit and The Unwinding Anxiety Workbook. If you're curious to learn more, you can find additional resources at drjud.com.

This eye trick was adapted from my book Unwinding Anxiety (Avery Books).

Copyright © 2025, Judson Brewer, MD, PhD

REFERENCES:

Brewer, J. A. (2021). Unwinding anxiety: New science shows how to break the cycles of worry and fear to heal your mind. Avery.

Darwin, C. and P. Prodger, The expression of the emotions in man and animals. 1998: Oxford University Press, USA.

Lee, D.H., J.M. Susskind, and A.K. Anderson. Social transmission of the sensory benefits of eye widening in fear expressions. Psychological science. 2013;24(6):957–965.