Is the sense of being stared at actually real?

[Dhrizzle]

So who's staring at me right now? I'm alone in my room! Or so I thought . . .

To discover that you'll have to turn fast enough to catch the photons that bounced off them before they moved behind you again, assuming they're at least a metre away (can you feel breathing on the back of your neck?) you have about 3 nanoseconds to turn 180 degrees but be careful, seeing them may cause them to exist.

[Durandro]

Current thought is that we have at least 9 senses not 5 I believe. Although none of them are knowing that someone is staring at you.

Actually, we have dozens of senses. The classics of sight, sound, smell, touch and taste. And then there are things like hunger, thirst, pressure, balance, spacial awareness, heat, pain... A lot of those aren't really considered senses by most people for some reason, though without these we become highly compromised.

You could count many of them as an extension of touch, but then taste and smell are very similar as well. As is sight and sound, since both operate in a similar fashion (detecting wavelengths and translating them into data).

And no, you can't sense when someone is staring at you. The times when you feel you are, and you actually are, are outnumbered by the times you feel like you are but you aren't. People just remember the positives more.

[-Zait-]

It's your lizard brain.

[Kalas]

Gnolp more or less nailed it. Any time you believe this to happen what's really happening is you're using your real senses together in a way you didn't think was possible.
It can be something as tiny as detecting the change in a room's ambient sound when someone else steps in, even if they're completely silent, but everyone experiences it time to time to a degree. It's not magic.
Even if human perception weren't so well documented it would still be foolish to assume humans have some hyper-specific, previously unknown sense rather than the ordinary ones used in ways you hadn't thought of before.

[K i s u]

Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean people aren't out to get you, or however that goes. It's possible to feel that, I think it's mostly other senses actually working in harmony you can hear sudden changes more often than not and makes you more alert i'm sure most of us have at some point but could be a fluke or just that you're so darn purdy its a common occurrence.

[Deleted]

Ive never actually felt that someone was staring at me.
Also, I live quite high above the ground. Sometimes when Im looking outside the window, I just stare at ppl. Like the biggest and baddest stare imaginable, eyes wide open and 100% concentrating on that person.
Unfortunately, ppl dont start looking around like "wth, someones staring at me omfg plz dont be a sniper"
Myth busted.

[Hooked]

It's probably a survival instinct built into our wiring.

[Chirri]

Most of my cues for that sort of awareness are audible, with some peripheral vision as well, rather than as a separate "sense" of it's own.

You're occupied but the space directly around you is still (or predictable, if you're able to do something repetitious without focus), so you're aware on some level when someone else's activity nearby stops. Depending on how quiet it is, you may be able to hear the sound of their clothes rustling as they move. They may give of subtle cues to attract your attention without being obvious about it, or even without being aware of it.

[Mercadi]

It's real. A few times something caused me to turn around and look at someone who was staring at me for whatever reason. At these moments I usually don't think about what caused me to turn around, it just happens spontaneously. And scares whoever is looking at me when I stare them down in return xD

[Dezerte]

As probably mentioned, we can sense things in our peripheral vision (our brain registers it, but 'you' don't really see it), we can sense by sounds (breathing etc).

And paranoia of course.

[Itisamuh]

It does happen, so yes, it's real. Most animals have a similar instinct to some degree. Unfortunately, sometimes the sense occurs when there's nothing there, so it's not exactly reliable.

[Deleted]

I saw multiple pictures and posts about this idea that a person could have a 6th sense, a sense that you could somehow know if someone was staring at you. Ive always wondered because sometime ive felt this phenomenon, like a sense of agiation within my mind.

I think it's bullshit.

You think you're being watched, so you turn around to check it. But because you turn around, a person might take notice of you and it becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

---------- Post added 2013-05-20 at 02:22 PM ----------

It's real. A few times something caused me to turn around and look at someone who was staring at me for whatever reason. At these moments I usually don't think about what caused me to turn around, it just happens spontaneously. And scares whoever is looking at me when I stare them down in return xD

Of course it's scary when someone suddenly turns around and starts staring at you. It's quite intimidating. Like I said, self-fulfilling prophecy.