Is twin telepathy real? Here’s what parents, experts say

Parents across the world have increasingly been sharing videos on social media highlighting their twins’ uncanny ability to communicate with each other without words or read each other’s thoughts.

It’s led many parents to question whether twin telepathy is, in fact, real. 

Adrea Garza, a parenting influencer and mother to 7-year-old fraternal twin girls, Koti and Haven, told FOX Television Stations that they always seemed to have a "special connection."

"I absolutely believe twins have a connection beyond the normal sibling connection," Garza explained. "My twins often have days where they say they are "in sync" and seem to almost read each others mind (thoughts) at times! It’s crazy!" 

According to the Oklahoma mom, the twins have previously told her when they feel "connected."

"They will say a lot of the same things at the same time, be hungry for the same foods at the same time etc.," she said, adding, "They have something we call the ‘twin bonk.’ They bonk their heads together frequently on accident because they both lean to grab the same thing at the same time. It’s happened countless times since they were babies. Over the years it’s become normal (almost expected) for it to happen several times a week!" 

In a subreddit on Reddit's website called r/Twins, users described their feelings toward twin telepathy.

"I wouldn't call it telepathy but my twin brother and I definitely communicate more easily with each other than with anyone else," one user wrote.

Another user said: "My fraternal twin sister and I always had an unspoken language."

Is twin telepathy real?

However, according to Nancy Segal, a psychology professor and leading expert in the psychology of twinhood, twin telepathy is mainly a myth. 

Dr. Segal told Parents Magazine that many twins she’s spoken with have never experienced any sort of telepathy.

"The problem I have with telepathy is that we hear about these matches after the fact, and so these stories get embellished," Segal said. 

Tammy Schamuh, a registered psychologist and the co-founder of the Institute of Child Psychology, has also heard the anecdotal evidence of twins having a strong emotional or physical connection. 

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"Having a feeling of ‘something being wrong’ when their twin is in crisis, or simply being so in tune they seem to finish one another’s sentences, or finding themselves engaging in similar activities even though they are in different places," Schamuhn told Parenting. "That being said, similar synchronous experiences are also reported in non-twin siblings and close friends."

But Segal pointed out that identical twins may perform better on some telepathy challenges.

"We do find these telepathy-like events happen with identical twins more than fraternal," Segal told Parents. "What I mean by that is they may come to the same decision independently, or they may pick the same outfits independently, or they may finish each other's sentences independently."

Previous research has shown that identical twins tend to have similar personalities, mannerisms, expressive social behavior, and interests, even when reared apart. But despite the anecdotal evidence, scientific research has struggled to validate the existence of twin telepathy, with studies aiming to replicate the experiences yielding mixed results. 

This story was reported from Los Angeles. Parenting contributed to this story.