my left eye is twitching

So I've been sitting here trying to write this newsletter while my left eye has been doing a little dance of its own. Twitch, twitch.

If my grandmother were here, she'd be either very excited or deeply concerned, depending on which eye was acting up. In Indian culture (and many others), eye twitching comes with a whole library of superstitions.

Left eye twitching for women? Good news coming.
For men? Watch out for bad luck.

Right eye twitching? Completely different meanings. Some believe it signals an unexpected visitor, others say it means someone's talking about you.

My personal favorite: in some parts of India, a twitching left eye means financial gain is coming. (still waiting on that one, thanks.)

But here's the thing – while I love my cultural heritage and all its colorful beliefs, I'm also a bit of a science nerd. So what's actually making my eye do that dance?

The Science Behind the Twitch

Turns out, this annoying thing has a proper name: myokymia. It's basically your eyelid muscles throwing a tiny tantrum.

The most common causes are surprisingly mundane:

• Fatigue and lack of sleep (guilty as charged)

• Too much caffeine (my morning coffee is giving me side-eye)

• Stress (who, me? stressed?)

• Dry eyes from staring at screens (hello, irony – I'm writing this on a screen)

• Eye strain (see above)

For most of us, these twitches are completely harmless and go away on their own. They're just your body's way of saying, "Hey, maybe take a break?" Your eye muscles are literally tired of your nonsense.

In rare cases, constant twitching might signal something that needs medical attention, but for the vast majority of us, it's just one of those weird body things – like how your stomach growls during important meetings or you get hiccups at the worst possible moment.

But I’m curious: Did any superstitions from your culture ever actually come true after a good eye twitch? Hit reply and let me know. I'm collecting data for a completely unscientific study.

PS: If your eye keeps twitching, try applying a warm compress. Science says it helps, though it's considerably less exciting than expecting a windfall of cash.

PPS: If you’re new here or have no clue about who’s behind the newsletter, this is for you.

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