EYE movements can reveal how willing a person is to wait, research has shown.

Impatient individuals tend to flick their eyes from one focus of attention to another at a faster rate, scientists have found.

The trait may reflect a general need to move and make decisions quickly in order not to waste time.

Scientists from Johns Hopkins University in the US used saccades - rapid eye movements - as a barometer to measure how hurried people are. Saccades occur as the eyes dart from one point of interest to another.

The speed of volunteers' eye movements correlated strongly with their impulsivity during the experiments.