Eye contact is a part of non-speaking communication. It may help strengthen bonds, convey intentions, and open a person’s mind to trusting another.

The effects of eye contact on human social interactions are well-studied. Researchers generally agree that prolonged eye contact is a non-speaking communication tool that helps strengthen bonds and convey messages to others.

Eye contact in intimate or romantic relationships may provide similar effects. Eye contact may promote feelings of attraction, trust, and connection with another person.

According to a 2022 study, several previous studies demonstrate that humans inherently try to connect with others. The study found that eye contact serves as an important non-speaking form of communication to form and maintain social connections with other people. Some evidence suggests that prolonged eye contact influences feelings of connectedness with others.

In a 2024 study, researchers noted that eye contact can improve mood, help with feeling connected, and may help with the child-parent bond. They also demonstrated that teens also demonstrate improved mood and connectedness, confirming the findings from the 2022 study mentioned above.

In their study, prolonged eye contact lasted between 16 and 38 seconds. Studies do not note a standard for prolonged eye contact, suggesting that any eye contact lasting for longer than about 5 seconds may be considered prolonged.

Arousal

Studies have also examined how prolonged eye contact increases the potential for arousal.

A 2019 study attempted to expand on previous findings, suggesting that undegraded eye contact arousal depends, in part, on both signals the eyes send and receive.

Degraded eye contact, according to their study, occurs when things obstruct the view, such as sunglasses.

During their study, researchers noted that they had participants maintain eye contact for a prolonged period of 1 minute, far above the average length of 3 to 5 seconds most people maintain.

In another study from 2017, researchers tested how the brain activates when people maintain eye contact with faces that convey different emotions, including anger, fear, and neutrality.

They found that angry faces caused the most brain activation or arousal, likely due to the potential threat they represent. The second strongest reaction occurred due to a neutral face, particularly in socially shy people who may perceive a neutral face as a threat.

Prolonged eye contact in romantic or potentially romantic relationships may have several of the same effects studies have demonstrated.

A couple or potential couple may communicate emotions and desires through signals in their eyes. This potentially means that maintaining eye contact with a romantic or potentially romantic partner may help to facilitate the formation of feelings of attraction and connectedness.

However, another study from 2020 found that eye contact does not impact the presence of romantic attraction. In other words, prolonged eye contact will not change the lack of emotions if you do not feel romantically attracted to the person you are talking with.

Still, the study did suggest that eye contact does have several benefits, including:

  • improving trust
  • enriching and facilitating interactions
  • communicating a feeling of closeness

An older study from 2016 also found evidence suggesting that people are more likely to trust a person’s statements if they make direct eye contact while speaking. The researchers noted that this also slowed their desire to dismiss a statement as false.

In other words, eye contact helps to establish trust with others, which can be true in romantic or potentially romantic relationships.

If you find it challenging to maintain eye contact, whether on a date or when speaking to someone in general, you may be able to improve your eye contact with some practice.

Some tips to improve eye contact include:

  • practice with a friend
  • look near the eye instead of directly into it
  • when looking away, slowly move your gaze from the other person’s eyes
  • try to slowly build up the amount of time you can look into someone’s eyes

If you’re having difficulty with eye contact, try to give yourself grace. Keep in mind that eye contact will not be the determining factor in whether you and your partner share a romantic connection, but it may help to facilitate feelings of trust and connection.

Prolonged eye contact in intimate or potentially romantic relationships may facilitate communication, promote a sense of connection, and elicit trust in your partner. Prolonged eye contact will not likely create a feeling of attraction to another person, meaning romantic bonds can form even if eye contact is generally lacking.

You can take steps to increase how long you maintain eye contact with others. You can practice with a friend, aim to slowly increase eye contact with others, and try looking near the eye instead of directly into it.