If you're irritated by the mere sight of people fidgeting, a new scientific study suggests you're not alone. Researchers in Canada recruited 4,100 participants who were asked to self-report whether they have sensitivities to seeing people fidget. They found that almost one in three people experienced the psychological phenomenon known as'misokinesia, or a'hatred of movements'. Misokinesia is psychological response to the sight of someone else's small but repetitive movements, the experts say, and it can seriously affect daily living. Misokinesia - the'hatred of movements' - is a psychological response to the sight of someone else's small and repetitive movements (concept image) Misokinesia - or the'hatred of movements' - is a psychological phenomenon that is defined as a strong negative affective or emotional response to the sight of someone else's small and repetitive movements.

Children and adults alike share an often unconscious need to fiddle and fidget, and the market for toys and gadgets to tackle these temptations seems to have exploded in recent years. But the science behind exactly what causes our drive to distraction remains unclear. In an article with The Conversation, Harriet Dempsey-Jones, a postdoctoral researcher in clinical neurosciences from the University of Oxford, suggests some possible explanations. And she also warns that using these types of toys may give off the wrong impression to people we might be talking to while playing with them. The growing craze for fidget spinners (pictured), marketed as stress relievers, has led to them being banned in some schools.